


No Longer Human

by Aurone



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angry Michele, Angst, Blow Jobs, Boys Kissing, Crush, Depression, EmiMike, Emil has depression, Facials, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt, M/M, Michele is dense, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Relationship Advice, Sara is smart, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-28 16:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 50,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10134515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: This story follows the same timeline as the anime starting with the Sochi Grand Prix final except it is from Emil and Michele's POV.   Emil gets confused by his feelings about Michele and doesn't know how to deal with them.  Emil will go through some angst and depression.  Michele will be dense.  Sara will do her best to help Emil and Michele get together.





	1. Grand Prix Final Sochi

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. 
> 
> This fic was inspired by me thinking about why happy-go-lucky Emil would pick No Longer Human as his skating theme. I spent way too much time thinking about what motivated him to pick that cold sounding sci-fi song (which I do really like) instead of something warm and happy. This fic is my explanation of his motivation. 
> 
> The POV will change between Emil, Sara and Michele quite a bit throughout the fic. 
> 
> Please forgive me for the angst I am about to put poor Emil through. I feel really bad about it.
> 
> There is smut in the later chapters starting in chapter 13. You have been warned. If that is not your thing, then please do not read.

Emil sat alone in the stands during the Sochi Grand Prix Final. With his elbows on his knees, he was currently watching Michele’s routine. He sighed as he brushed his longish light brown hair out of his eyes. He had come to the final officially to watch the competition and to learn from the skaters. However, he had really come to support his only friends, the Crispino twins. Emil had been friends with the Crispinos for a couple of years now. He met them at a previous competition and became easy friends with Sara. Michele seemed to tolerate him okay, but he was always yelling at Emil to stay away from Sara. He had traded phone numbers with both but only Sara seemed to text him. He rarely heard from Michele. Even though it was Sara with her violet eyes and outgoing personality that had originally drawn Emil to the twins, he found more and more lately that his attention was drawn to her stiff and uncompromising brother. Emil found himself spending more and more time trying to get Michele to respond to him or smile. And every text that Michele sent to Emil was a treasure. Emil was fascinated with Michele’s current routine. Emil had seen it at a couple of the competitions now. It seemed to get more beautiful each time Emil saw it. Michele could be so rigid and cold when interfacing with people but on the ice, he was all warmth and fluidity. Emil’s breath caught as Michele entered a particularly lovely step sequence.

 _He moves his body so well_. _He is so beautiful_ , Emil thought.

Emil felt a warmth blossoming in his chest as he thought about Michele. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he shook his head as if to dispel his thoughts and feelings. His hair falling once again to obscure his blue eyes. He brushed the unruly locks back and watched the end of Michele’s routine as he thought.

_How can I think a man, my friend, to be beautiful? Shouldn’t I be thinking about his sister that way instead of him? Maybe I just think his moves on the ice are beautiful? Maybe?_

Emil felt so isolated. For the first time, he wished that he had some other friends that he could talk to. He needed to talk these thoughts and feelings out. He was so confused. He couldn’t even talk to Sara about it. Emil being both young and a professional skater hadn’t given much thought to relationships or his sexuality. Skating kept him far too busy for too much soul searching, and frankly being friends with the Crispinos had been enough, until now. This was the first time that Emil had found himself alone with thoughts he couldn’t unravel. After Michele’s free skate, Emil watched poor Yuri crash and burn. He felt sorry for the Japanese boy. Obviously, something had thrown the boy off. He wasn’t performing as he normally did. Emil would have to remember that if he ran into him to give him some words of encouragement.

After the medals had been awarded, Emil unwound himself from the stadium seat, sometimes being 6-foot-tall had its disadvantages, and bounded off to find the twins. He knew Michele would not be happy that he came in fifth. Michele was serious about his skating and was always too hard on himself in regards to his performances. He was always trying to catch up with his sister who this time had come in second at the Grand Prix Final. Emil wanted to try to do something to cheer him up. Maybe he would even get to eat dinner with the twins. Looking around the venue, he didn’t spot either of the familiar faces he was looking for so he headed back to the hotel where all the competitors were staying. He spotted Michele in the lobby who of course was with Sara. Emil went bounding up to the pair in his usual enthusiastic way.

Emil said, “Hey Michele, . . . Sara.” Emil nodded at Sara as he slung his arm around Michele in his normal fashion.

“You both preformed so great today! I enjoyed watching both of your performances. Want to go grab some dinner?”

Sara turned towards Emil about to give the standard of course reply since they almost always went to dinner with Emil when he was around. But Michele shrugged off Emil’s arm and then interrupted her before she could speak.

Scowling Michele said, “Can’t you just leave us alone for once? I just cannot tolerate you annoying us this evening. Please just go away.”

Emil’s face fell and his trademark smile dissolved. He felt a pang in his chest. _Was he annoying? Did he only ever annoy the twins? Were they just putting up with him to be nice?_

He pasted on a fake version of his smile and replied, “Sure. I get it.”

As he slowly walked away from the twins towards his room. With Michele’s words echoing in his head, he suddenly didn’t feel like going out anymore not even with some of the other skaters. He slunk away from the Crispinos with his back hunched and head down. Emil felt a hand on his shoulder. Sara had caught up with him before he made it halfway through the lobby.

“I am sorry, Emil.” She said. “I don’t know what is wrong with my stupid brother. I am sure he is just upset about getting fifth place. You know how seriously he takes competitions. I am sure it is no reflection on you. I hope we see you at the next competition!”

Sara turned away from Emil then stalked back to her brother intent on giving him a piece of her mind. Emil watch her go and took one last look at the twins before he continued to his hotel room. 

***

Sara returned to her brother. Michele was scowling even more because she had touched and spoken to Emil. He didn’t like the relationship he was seeing between those two. He would have to make a greater effort at keeping them apart.

“Why were you so mean to Emil?” Sara asked. “Did you see the look on his face after you yelled at him? He looked like he had just lost his best friend.”

“I just couldn’t deal with him today. He is always all over you and he is just so. . .” Michele replied. “I just couldn’t. Not today.”

“You are so mean Mickey. You should be nicer to Emil. He is the only friend you have got. You need to spend less time with me and more time with other people.” Sara said.

This only earned her a glare from her loving brother.

***

Emil walked slowly to his room with his head down. He pulled out the key to his hotel room and opened the door. The first thing in his line of sight was the presents that he had brought for the twins. This would be the last time before Christmas that he would see them so he had brought their gifts. He had been so excited to see if they liked what he had picked out, especially Michele’s gift. He had gotten his grandmother’s recipe for Kolache and made from scratch the pastry that Michele had mentioned once that he had liked. It had taken him a couple of tries to get them right, but he had enjoyed making them for his friend. He would have given them the gifts tonight after dinner. Emil sighed. He ordered room service while he tried to decide what to do with the gifts.

_He could throw them away. They would never have to know he brought them. But that seemed a waste. Maybe I will just leave them outside their hotel room._

After choking down what little food he could manage, he decided to write a note of apology to the twins and leave it with the gifts.

 

Dear Sara and Michele,

I am sorry if have taken up too much of your time at the competitions. I had no idea that I was annoying you. Please accept these gifts as part of my apology. Again, I am sorry for imposing myself upon you both.

Merry Christmas,

Emil

 

Emil took the gifts and the note to Sara and Michele’s room. He gently set them outside their door and knocked then he walked back to his room. When he got to his room, he stepped inside the door, and that was as far as his body would allow him to go. He was so emotionally wrecked and so tired. He slid to the floor with his back against the door. His feet were flat on the floor and his long legs bent at the knee. He rested his crossed arms on his knees and laid his head on his arms and the tears began to flow. He couldn’t stop them and suddenly he was sobbing. He couldn’t help wondering why he cared so much about what had happened in the lobby earlier. It just wasn’t like him to get this upset.

***

Sara heard a knock at their hotel room door. They hadn’t ordered anything and so she wondered who could it be? She looked through the peephole and didn’t see anyone so she opened the door. The sight before her nearly broke her heart. It was two Christmas presents and a note which had to be from Emil. She picked up the gifts and took them into the room. When she read the note, she couldn’t help the couple of tears that escaped down her cheek.

 _Poor Emil_ she thought. _Mickey has to make this right somehow_.

“Mickey, Emil left us Christmas presents and a note.” Sara said.

Sara handed the note and Mickey’s present to him. She sat her gift on her bed. Michele took the note and read it. It finally registered that he might have hurt the Czech Skater’s feelings but he wasn’t going to admit it.

“Hmmm.” He replied.

“That’s all you have to say for yourself.” Sara said. “I can’t believe you.”

She sighed, throwing up her hands in an expression of frustration with her brother. She opened her gift. It was a lovely woolen scarf and matching mittens.

_Emil is so thoughtful._ _  
_

She had mentioned at some point that she had lost her scarf and that the last time she had been to one of the more wintery countries for a competition she had been a bit chilly. It was also her favorite color, blue. Now she felt even worse about how her brother had treated him. She looked over at Mickey who had also opened his gift.

“What did he give you.” Sara asked.

She couldn’t see inside the box and Mickey looked a little stunned.

“It’s a box of Kolache.” He said.

They had eaten them one time when a competition had been in the Czech Republic. Michele, in the course of some conversation, had mentioned to Emil how much he enjoyed them. “

They look homemade, too.” Sara said. “He probably made those for you.”

Mickey just looked up at her.

“I am going to go talk to him.” She said (moving toward their hotel room door). “We have treated him terribly today and all he has ever done is be considerate to us.”

Sara walked briskly down the hall to Emil’s room. She knocked on the door.

“Emil, please let me in. I want to apologize for my idiot brother.”

She placed her hand on the door and then her ear. Maybe she could hear him, if he was inside the room. She thought she heard someone crying, but she couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t imagine the happy go lucky Emil crying. She couldn’t tell if he was in his room or not. She knocked again.

“Emil, please.”

Emil didn’t answer so after a few minutes Sara left and went back to her room. She and Mickey were going to have to do something to fix this but she didn’t know what.

***

Emil had heard Sara knocking at his door, but he didn’t let her in. She sounded so sad. He hoped he wasn’t the cause of it. But he just didn’t have the will or energy to move. He also didn’t want her to see him like this. He was just a mess and so far from the happy persona that everyone associated with him. He passed out into sleep sitting on the floor.


	2. Contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil goes home after the Sochi Grand Prix final. He has some feeling to figure out. And Christmas happens. Sara is smart and is starting to figure out something is wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More angsty Emil. Sorry.

When Emil woke up the next morning, he was confused.  He rubbed his eyes and looked around his hotel room.

_Why am I on the floor?_         

Then the previous day came crashing back to him. Emil groaned as he picked himself up off the floor. He heard his neck and back pop in protest of his ill-advised sleeping position.  He looked at the time on the bedside clock. His flight left in a couple of hours.  He had just enough time to get cleaned up and pack. He made short work of packing.  He took a quick shower trying his best to wash yesterday off his mind, but it didn’t work.  He grabbed his bag and went down to the lobby to check out.  He managed to check out and leave the hotel without running into either of the twins.  Emil made it to the airport just in time to pass through security and make it to his gate in time for boarding. The seven-hour flight was brutal. Normally, Emil didn’t mind flying.  It was a great opportunity for him to meet and talk to new people which he usually enjoyed.  However, today he just wanted to be home. He need to figure himself out.

Emil disembarked off the plane, and went to pick up his checked bags.  He then took a taxi back to his apartment.  He walked up the few flights of stairs to his apartment and let himself in.  He threw his keys on the kitchen table, and then carried his bags into his bedroom. He had never noticed how lonely it was to come back to an empty apartment before. It was times like this he missed his family.  His footsteps echoed in the empty apartment as he walked back into the kitchen to look at his mail.  There was nothing important in the mail so he decided to go ahead and unpack his bags.  That would at least give him something to do to take his mind off his problems. When he was done, he sat down on the couch.  Emil sighed.  He was tired and lonely.   He could call his family, but they would know something was up with him and it would worry them.  He didn’t want to put them through that.  He looked at his clock on the wall.  It was early evening.  He should probably do something about food soon.  He would have to go to practice tomorrow.  He had to prepare for the European Championships. He got up from the couch. He fixed himself something quick to eat and then decided to just go to bed. The past couple days had physically and emotionally worn him out. 

Emil got up early the next morning.  He grabbed his skating gear and headed to the rink.  He picked up a Kolach and coffee on his way to the rink which only made him think of Michele.  He wondered if Michele had eaten the Kolache that he had made.

_Had he liked them?  Or was his gift just another failure?_

When Emil got to the rink, he suited up.  His coach wasn’t there yet but his rink mate, Anton, was already warming up.  Emil nodded at Anton as he entered the ice.  They weren’t exactly friends but they were cordial with each other. Emil decided he would practice some the jumps that he was having problems with.  He could land the quad loop most of the time, but he would like to polish it a bit and make it more consistent.

Emil was not having a good day on the ice. Every time he did a jump complicated or simple he found himself distracted and crashing into the ice.  When he hit the ice for about the 15th time, he got up from the ice, sighed, and brushed his hair from his eyes. He looked down at the ice as if it could provide the answers he was looking for. He looked up just as Anton slid to a stop in front of him.

“Are you okay?” Anton asked.

“Hmm, I think so.  Probably going to have some bruises tomorrow.” Emil replied.

“It is unlike you to miss jumps like that.  Anything on your mind you want to talk about?” Anton asked.

“Not really.”  Emil said.

“If I didn’t know better, I would swear you looked like your girlfriend had dumped you.  You just don’t have your usually upbeat attitude and energy.” Anton said.  “You look, well, sad.”

Emil looked startled for a second and took a deep breath. Like a thought had hit him right between the eyes. He choked on the realization and on air.  His coughing interrupting the conversation.  Anton went and got a bottle of water for Emil and waited until the fit subsided.

“Well, whatever is buzzing around up there,” Anton lightly tapped Emil’s forehead. “you need to take care of it before you come back to the ice.  It will only distract you and you will get yourself hurt.”  Anton said.

“You are right.”  Emil conceded.

“I’ll tell coach you aren’t feeling well and went home. Hopefully he will chalk it up to jet lag.  Go figure yourself out, Emil.”

“Thanks, Anton. I’ll see you around.”

Emil skated off the ice and stopped at the bench near it to take off his skates. Then he went back to the locker room to change.  He walked back to his apartment in the crisp cool morning air.  The smell and crispness of the air seem to help his mind settle a bit. When he got back to his apartment, he dropped his gear on the entryway floor.

_Now what?  Maybe I should go for a run.  I always think better when I am in motion._

He changed into his running shoes and grabbed his earphones. He walked to the park that was near his apartment that had a good running trail.  He began his normal five-mile loop. As his body began to relax into the motion, his mind began to unwind the mess that had been his thoughts and emotions for the past week.

His first thought was _Why did my last interaction with the twins affect me so much?  It is out of character for me to be upset like this.  This is all so  bothersome.  What is wrong with me. Let’s look at it._ He thought _.  There are only two components to this problem, right?  Sara and Michele._

Anton’s comment of about getting dumped kept creeping back into his thoughts.

_Do I like Sara that way?  Was it being denied her company that set me off?  No.  That was not it._ _As much as I  like Sara,  I am not interested in her romantically._

She was cute and sweet but hadn’t managed to steal his heart in the past year. No matter what her brother thought _._

_Therefore, it wasn’t Sara causing my inner turmoil which makes sense.  She’s never been anything but sweet to me. Therefore, it must be Michele._

For a moment Emil just concentrated on his feet pounding on the trail and his breathing. He needed to give himself a moment before he started probing into these thoughts.

_Is it that Michele was mean to me?  Nah, Michele is almost always mean to me.  That was nothing new._

Especially since Michele was so sure that Emil was after Sara. He tried his best to keep Emil and Sara apart even if that meant Michele had to spend more time with Emil.

_When did I get to where I enjoyed Michele’s company more than Sara’s?  So, maybe it is the implication that Michele doesn’t want me around anymore?  That sounded more right. Okay.  So why exactly does it bother me?  I could always hang out with other skaters.  I could make new friends._

Many of the other skaters were good people and would be good friends.  But Emil enjoyed being around Michele and he didn’t want to hang out with other skaters.

_I don’t want new friends.  I want Michele and . . .Sara._

And then Anton’s words echoed one last time in his mind.  

_But I don’t like Sara that way, but. . ._ _No.  Wait.  Shit. That can’t be it, can it? Do I like. . . like Michele._

Emil stopped running in the middle of the trail.

_Am I in love with him? I couldn’t be, could I? Am I even attracted to guys?_

Emil began to run again as he thought back to the time he spent with the twins. He was looking for evidence that he wasn’t in love with Michele. Emil thought about the times when he got Michele to smile or laugh at something he said.  He remembered the sense of warmth that had welled up inside his chest _._ How happy he felt that he could make Michele laugh _._ He recalled how it was always Michele that he was in physical contact with.  He always draped his arm around Michele’s shoulders or engaged in some other kind of innocent touch with the boy.  He always sat next to Michele at the competitions. He always looked for Michele first in a room and then for Sara. It all added up.  But not in the way that Emil wanted.

_Shit. I am in love with Michele.  It’s the only answer that makes sense.  But he can never know. He would hate me and that would kill me. I can’t lose him._

Emil’s heart broke knowing he could never tell the man he loved how he felt.

_I have to keep this locked up.  No one can ever know. If Michele finds out that would destroy any sort of friendship that we currently have, and I don’t think I could survive that._

Emil spent the next two days at home “sick.”  He was mourning the loss of something he could never have.  He let the depression fully have him for those two days.  He cried.  Slept way too much and ate way too little.  If he had been a drinking man, then he would have done that too.  When those two days were done, he put his old energetic persona on like a suit of clothes.  It was what the world expected to see so he would wear it.  No one else needed to be bothered with his internal trauma.

On the third day, he got up and cheerfully (at least externally) went to practice.  If he could never tell Michele his feelings, then maybe he could earn his respect by doing well at the European Championships.

***

Two weeks later

Christmas was a difficult holiday for Emil.  His family lived too far away for him to visit during the holidays especially since it was so close to the European Championships. He couldn’t afford to miss that much practice.  He did call them and wish his parents and siblings a Merry Christmas.  His family had opened the care package he had sent them, and had been happy with the gifts he had picked out for them. He had bought them items from all over the world when he traveled for competitions.  He also received a package from his family.  It had arrived the day before.   His mother had knitted him a scarf.  It was blue to match his eyes she had said.   His other family members had sent him various books and movies but it was his grandmother’s gift that had nearly undone him.  She had sent him homemade Kolache, the same recipe that he had made for Michele.  Emil had nearly cried when he opened the box.  

Usually, he was fine spending the day alone.  After calling his family, he would text the twins, and then he would spend the afternoon watching classic Christmas films that he enjoyed.  This year was a bit harder.  He resisted the urge to text Sara or Michele.  He didn’t want to be more of a bother than he had been to them already however much he missed them.   And he wasn’t in the mood for Christmas movies.  Currently, he was pacing back and forth in his apartment trying to blow off some of his energy.  He had always been a high-energy person.  Maybe he should have gone snow-boarding or something.  He was thinking about taking a run in the park when he heard his phone ping.  He walked over to the coffee table and picked it up.  It was a text from Sara.

“Merry Christmas.  Thank you for the scarf and mittens.  They were beautiful.”

A picture followed of Sara in the scarf and mittens that Emil had chosen for her.

Emil having missed the regular interaction with Sara took the opportunity to text her back.

“Merry Christmas to you too.  You are very welcome. Glad you like your gift.  Tell Michele Merry Christmas for me.”

“You could text him yourself.” Sara replied.

“No, I don’t want to bother him so please tell him for me.” Emil replied.

“Okay.  I will.  Have a good day.”  Sara said.

Sara frowned at her phone.  Usually Emil sent two or three funny texts to them per week in between competitions. And sometimes even call them on Christmas. He knew that they had no family beside each other and they knew he couldn’t visit his family.  This kind of made them bond together on these family holidays.   This year he was acting strange.  He hadn’t texted them since the Grand Prix and he wouldn’t even text Michele.

_Something is wrong with Emil_ , Sara thought.

And even though her brother had been a completely asinine to Emil at the Grand Prix Final, Emil’s reaction seemed out of proportion for two friends having a bit of a spat.  She was going to have to corner that boy at the European Championships and figure out what was wrong.  Sara walked into the living room of the apartment that she and Mickey shared in Naples. Mickey was sitting on the couch reading one of the books that she had given him for Christmas.

“Mickey.” Sara said.

“Hmm.” He replied not looking up from his book.

“Have you gotten any texts from Emil since we have been back from the Grand Prix.”

Michele stopped reading and looked up at Sara.

“Why?” Michele asked.

“He usually texts us a couple of times a week and he usually chats with us on Christmas but I haven’t heard a peep from him since the Grand Prix.  I am worried about him.” Sara replied.

“Why would you worry about that kid?  He has probably been busy either practicing his routine for the Europeans or jumping off a mountain or something else equally stupid. You worry too much, Sis.”

“And I don’t think you worry enough.  He is about the only friend you have and he is acting out of character.  I think it is reason for concern. Something is definitely up with him.” Sara said.

“I am sure we will see him at the Europeans and get it all straighten out.  I am sure that he is fine and that everything will be okay.”  Michele replied and then went back to reading.

He didn’t see Sara leave the room with a sigh that would mean trouble for him later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments and kudos are always welcome.


	3. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil goes to the European Championships. Sara is smarter than Emil would like.

One Month Later

Emil flew into Stockholm with his coach and Anton for the European Championships. It was his plan to avoid the twins if possible. He just didn’t feel up to interacting with them, yet. He missed them, but he wasn’t sure he could control his emotions around Michele. He also knew Sara was beginning to get worried about him. He was hoping by the World’s to be comfortable enough with these new emotions to hang around them again. Finding a way to control himself and his emotions was new to Emil. He was finding it to be a difficult task. He usually wore his thoughts and emotions on his sleeve, but that was not going to work with Michele. His picked up his luggage and moved towards the taxi that Coach had gotten for them. They rode in silence to the hotel. They walked into the lobby and Emil was relieved to not see the twins. It looked like he could escape them for now. After they checked in, their Coach gave them some final instructions.

“I want you boys to rest today. You can sightsee tomorrow. But I want you in the rink on Tuesday to get used to the ice and to practice for the competition. If you need anything you have my number.”

Both boys nodded as he handed each boy their room key and they all walked towards the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, Emil saw the twins across the lobby.  Sara looked up in time to see Emil on the elevator. Their eyes met across the room. Emil shook his head a little as the the doors to the elevator closed.

***

Sara looked up upon entering the lobby of the hotel. She looked across the lobby and saw Emil in the elevator. Normally, he would have gotten off the elevator and greeted them in his enthusiastic manner. Emil seemed to be able to wind Michele up which Sara always found funny. Their eyes met across the room. His were so sad. She had never seen Emil with sad eyes before. Usually, his eyes were sparkling with mirth and excitement. He shook his head slightly and then the door to the elevator closed and he was gone. Sara was worried about the Emil. It looked like he was trying to avoid Michele and her.

_I guess I will have to hunt him down to find out what’s wrong._

_***_

The next day

There were several places that Emil wanted to see in Stockholm. Normally, he would have gotten together with Sara and Michele and they would have planned a sightseeing day together. That wasn’t going to happen on this trip. He sat looking at the tourist guides while eating his muesli and drinking his coffee. He decided to go to the ABBA Museum first and then to the Gamla Stan. If he had any time left after that, he would finish off at the Royal Palace. Sounded like a fun and full day. He finished his breakfast and headed out into the city for his sightseeing.

***

Sara looked at her phone for what seemed the hundredth time. Emil should have texted by now and asked about their plans for the day. They would usually sightsee together which always made it more fun. Emil seemed to lighten Michele up a bit and add a bit more levity to their day. She had been planning to foster Michele off on Emil so she could go to the spa with Mila.

“I guess Emil is not going to go sightseeing with us today.” Sara said.

“So?” Michele replied.

“Really, Mickey.” Sara said frowning.

“Just means I won’t have to spend the day running interference between the two of you.” He replied.

Sara rolled her eyes. “You are impossible. I have plans with Mila today. I was hoping Emil would text so you would have someone to spend the day with. Mila and I planned the Spa day weeks ago. We thought it would help us relax and get ready for the competition.”

She left their room with a huff and made her way to Mila’s room. The girls made their way to the spa inside the hotel where they got massages, manicures and pedicures. It was a delightful girl’s only day. Michele knew he was in trouble as soon as Sara left. She was mad but he didn’t know what he had done. Who cared about that kid, Emil, anyways? By that evening Michele had his answer. He did. He had gotten used to Emil being around to fill up the silence and to facilitate his interacting with the other skaters. It had been a long time since Michele had to spend a day on his own. Usually Sara or Emil spent the day with him at the competitions. Now that they were both missing he found that he actually missed the boy. He had taken Emil for granted.

_Wonder why he didn’t text us today. Did he go out sightseeing by himself? That didn’t seem like Emil. He liked being around people. Did he avoid us because of what I said at the Grand Prix? That couldn’t be it. Could it? I guess I was a little harsher than usual. Should I text him and see what he is doing? No. Hell. I never text him. That would be weird. How do I fix this? Guess I should apologize to Sara and enlist her help._ _I want my friend back. I think I may actually miss him._

***

Emil had been dreading Tuesday. He had a great day yesterday and had enjoyed all the sights he had seen and the food he had eaten. Stockholm was an awesome city. It was the first day in a while where he enjoyed himself without his mind getting in the way. It allowed him to forget his current problems and just relax. He had needed a day like yesterday. Today’s problem was that the twins were probably going to be on the practice ice today, too. It would be their chance to corner him if they had a mind too. He had a feeling that Sara would be after him today. She was smart and he could tell by the look on her face in the lobby that she knew something was up. Emil made it through practice. He had done a decent job of it, but it wasn’t his best practice. He had flubbed a couple of jumps he should have made but his footwork was good. He looked around the rink and saw that the Crispinos were no longer on the ice.

_Did I get lucky? Did they already leave?_

He skated to the edge of the ice and put on his blade guards. He left the ice and started towards the dressing rooms. He stopped at a bench near the ice and took off his skates. He picked up his skates and walked to the men’s changing room only to find Sara standing in front of the door.

“We need to talk.” She said.

Emil groaned. _He hadn’t gotten lucky after all. He’d been ambushed._

“Okay?” Emil replied apprehensively.

“We can either do it here or I can let you get changed and we can go have a cup of coffee.” Sara said.

“I vote for the coffee option.” Emil replied.

“You will not run away from me this time, Emil."  Sara said pointing at him. “I am waiting right here for you. No sneaking out the back.” She said.

“Yes, ma’am." Emil replied.

Emil went into the locker room. He quickly showered and changed clothes.

_Damn. How I am going to get myself out of this? She is going to find out and tell her brother. Then it will be all over for me._

Emil was so frustrated he could cry, but there was no getting out of it.

Once Sara made up her mind about something, there was no changing it or getting around her. Emil emerged from the locker room and Sara was there as promised. They walked back towards the hotel from the rink. They stopped at a little café between the rink and the hotel. They both ordered coffee and they sat at table in the back of the café next to the window.

“So . . .”Sara started. “What has been up with you, lately. I know my brother was a little blunt at the Grand Prix Final. He shouldn’t have said what he did, but your reaction to it was way out of proportion.”

“I know.” Emil said sipping his coffee. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s wrong. You are my friend. I want to help you if I can.” Sara said.

“I know, but I don’t think you can help me with this.” Emil said hanging his head.

Sara reached out a hand to Emil. Her fingers lightly touched his on the table.

She thought with all this moping around, _if I didn’t know better, I would swear he is acting like someone who is in love but on the wrong side of it. If that is the case who could he be sweet on? If it were me, he’d tell me right?  
_

_"_ You know you can tell me anything, right?” Sara said.

“Hmm.” Emil replied still not looking up at Sara.

“I am really worried about you, Emil.” Sara said desperately trying to reach the boy. “That note you left with the Christmas presents was so sad. It broke my heart to see those words from you. You have never been sad like that, and Michele always treats you that. So why was the Grand Prix Final different?” Sara asked.

Emil shrugged. “Did you and Michele like the Christmas gifts?” Emil asked trying to change the subject as he lifted his head.

“Yes, they were lovely.” Sara said.

Emil’s eyes brighten for a moment and he asked, “Did Michele try the Kolache? What did he think?”

Sara replied (wondering for a moment why this was so important to Emil), “Yes, he ate them. He said they were better than the ones we bought the last time we were in the Czech Republic.”

Emil smiled, “They were made with my Grandmother’s recipe.”

“You made them yourself?” Sara asked. “I thought maybe you had.”

“Yes, it took me a couple of tries to get them right but I wanted them to be perfect. . . uh to be as good as he remembered.” Emil replied.

Sara raised an eyebrow at his response and said. “It was sweet of you to remember that I needed the scarf and that Michele liked the Kolache. You’re a good friend to both of us which is why I am so worried about you.”

_But the guy that did those things is so different to the Emil that is now avoiding us. What is the difference? Why the sudden change?_   Sara thought.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence while Sara sipped her coffee and thought about the last day that they had spent together in Sochi. That had been a fun day. Emil and Michele had cut up all afternoon. She was always surprised how Michele allowed Emil to get into his personal space which was a privilege that he allowed no one else. She had noticed at some point in the afternoon that Emil watched Michele whenever they were together. He also touched Michele whenever he thought he could get away with it. Emil was so attentive and in tune with Michele. She had never noticed it before but Emil had looked at Michele with such fondness. She had thought at the time how she wanted someone to watch her and be in tune with her that way. It was so sweet. And then suddenly it clicked.

_OMG. Emil is in love with my brother._

It was evident in the way he and Michele interacted in Sochi when sightseeing, and then in the complete change in demeanor when Michele told him to get lost. It must have felt like a betrayal to Emil. It also explained all the work he put in to make the Kolache when he only bought her a scarf. It also explained the sadness in his eyes, and the way he was avoiding Michele and herself.

“umm. . . you like. . .like Michele.” She said, her hands flat on the table as she suddenly stood up from the table in excitement. Her chair scraped across the floor making a loud noise which caused Emil to look up at her as she leaned towards him.

“What?! No.” Emil denied, panicking.

“You are in love with my stupid, stubborn brother. That’s why what he said affected you so much and why you went to such trouble for his Christmas present. It’s also why you are avoiding us. You are afraid he will find out.” Sara said as she calmed back down and sat down. Sara saw the look of panic in Emil’s eyes. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on in that mind of his.

“No. . . .no. You are wrong.” Emil weakly protested as he shook his head. He wasn’t good at lying.

“Am I? Sara asked.

Emil said quietly, “Oh, Hell. I suck at lying. No, you are right. . . but please don’t tell him.”

“Why?” Sara asked.

“What if he doesn’t like me back and he hates me because I like him? I can’t lose him. It would kill me. I’d be done. I can’t even fathom a life where I couldn’t see him.” Emil said. “I am barely hanging on as it is knowing that we are still friends, and I can see him occasionally.” Emil hung his head again trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Poor Emil.” Sara said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “It must be tough for you. Especially since Michele can be so mean. Michele’s got it all wrong, though. He thinks you are chasing after me but you are really chasing after him.” She giggled.

“It’s not funny.” Emil mumbled.

“It kind of is. If you think about it.” Sara said.

Neither of them noticed as Michele walked past the café.

***

Michele happened to be walking past the café just in time to see Sara lean in and console Emil about his unrequited love. All Michele saw was his sister touching Emil’s shoulder and leaning into Emil’s personal space. He felt angry but he didn’t know why. It felt different than his usual emotion of trying to protect his sister. He usually didn’t feel this angry. He knew Emil wasn’t interested in Sara. He hadn’t hit on her in a while. But he was angry, anyways. Maybe it was because he alone and they were together?

_He wanted to spend time with Emil, too. What I am thinking?_

Confused, he stomped back to the hotel to wait for his sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome.


	4. Crash and Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really awkward dinner. And we finally get to the short program of the European Championships. Michele finds himself being angry for reasons he cannot understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel kind of bad for what this chapter puts Emil through. Lots of self doubt and angst. This is ending up being a longer journey that I thought it would be originally, please bear with me. 
> 
> If I make any mistakes related to skating please let me know. All I know about the sport I learned from google. 
> 
> Thanks to my sister, SchalaDresdan who is my beta.

Sara left Emil at the café and walked back to the hotel. She entered the hotel room that she was sharing with her brother. She knew immediately something was wrong. He looked angry. She looked at him and quietly waited for him to speak. She knew it would do no good to ask him. He would divulge his emotions when he saw fit.

“I saw you with Emil.” Michele said quietly.

“Well”, Sara said, “someone had to apologize for your behavior at the Grand Prix Final.”

“You didn’t have to touch him for that!” Michele practically yelled.

“What is wrong with you?” Sara asked.

Looking into her brother’s violet eyes trying to figure out what was going on with him.

“I don’t know. . . I am just trying to protect you?” Michele said.

“You know that Emil is not interested in me that way. If I touched him, it was just one friend comforting another.” Sara said.

“Hmm.” Michele said.

Sara sighed. “You should call Emil. Tell him you are sorry about Sochi and ask him to go to dinner with us.”

“Why?” Michele said.

“God, Michele, what is your problem today? Emil is a good guy. He is our friend and I for one would like to keep him as a friend. But if you keep treating him terribly, he will make some new friends and he won’t need us anymore.” Sara all but yelled.

That rocked Michele for a minute.

_Emil wouldn’t need us anymore?_

He had never thought about that before. He had always just treated the boy a bit coldly and expected him to come back kind of like the puppy Michele always comparing him too.

_I don’t want to lose Emil. He is my only friend._

“Alright.” Michele said as he sighed heavily.

He picked up his phone and dialed Emil’s number.

Emil answered the phone “Hello?”

“Emil?” Michele asked.

“Michele?” Emil asked sounding panicked. “Is everything alright? Are you okay?”

“Emil, calm down. I am fine. Everything is okay.” Michele said.

“Is Sara okay?” Emil asked.

 _Why is asking about Sara?_ Michele wondered.

He missed that fact that Emil asked if he was okay first before he asked about Sara.

“Sara is fine. We are both fine. Nothing is wrong. Why would you automatically assume that there was something wrong?” Michele asked.

Emil replied sounding sheepish, “Well. . .you never call me. I assumed it must be an emergency if you are calling me instead of Sara calling me. I am glad you are okay.”

_Have I really never called Emil?_

Emil waited for Michele to tell him why he called and an uncomfortable silence hung for a moment.

Michele cleared his throat, “I wanted to apologize for how I treated you in Sochi. I was really upset about my performance, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Sara turned towards Michele with a stunned look on her face which was echoed by Emil’s face if they could have seen it. Michele actually sounded like a reasonable adult for a second.

“It’s fine. I understand. Apology accepted.” Emil replied after he processed what Michele said for a moment.

“Let me make it up to you. Come to dinner with Sara and I. It’s my treat.” Michele said.

“O. .okay. Emil replied.”

“Is 6pm a good time for you?” Michele asked.

“That’s fine.” Emil replied.

“Meet us in the lobby at 6?” Michele asked.

“Sounds like a plan. See you both then.” Emil replied.

“Okay. See you then.” Michele replied.

Michele hung up the phone.

“How was that?” He asked Sara. “

Better than I expected.” Sara replied.

***

Emil looked down at his phone once he hung up from talking to Michele and sighed.

 _I am so screwed_.

***

Emil met Michele and Sara in the lobby of the hotel, and even Michele noticed that Emil was subdued.They decided to eat in the hotel so they could get to bed early. They all had to skate their short programs the next day. The hostess showed them to a booth. Michele slid into the booth on one side and Emil slid in on the other. Normally, Sara would have sat beside Michele. However, tonight she decided to test a theory she had and she slid in beside Emil. This resulted in a surprised look from Emil and a scowl from Michele. The hostess handed each of them a menu and for a moment silence reigned as they each perused their menu. Their waiter came to the table for their drink orders. As much as Emil would have liked a drink, he ordered water like Sara and Michele. They needed to be hydrated for the competition tomorrow. The waiter brought their water and took their orders. After the waiter left, they sat in an uncomfortable silence.

 _This is completely strange._ Michele thought. _Why is it so quiet? Wait, Emil isn’t talking? Why isn’t Emil talking? Is he still mad about the Grand Prix?_

Michele started, “Um. . .( _should I apologize again? Why is this so hard?_ )”

But he stopped speaking as Sara shifted closer to Emil nearly touching him. Michele scowled and wondered what she was up to. Then Michele watched as Emil uncomfortably shifted away from her. Suddenly, Michele saw red.

“What the hell are you two doing and could you stop?” Michele said.

“Stop what?” Sara asked.

Michele rolled his eyes at his sister.

About that time the waiter returned with their food. He sat a chicken Caesar salad down in front of Sara. Michele had chicken and steamed vegetables, and Emil got a hamburger.

“Are you really going to eat that, the day before a competition?” Michele asked.

“Yeah, why?” Emil replied.

“That’s an awful lot of fat and carbs for a night before a competition.” Michele replied.

“And?” Emil said.

“Mickey leave him alone. Just let him eat in peace. This was supposed to be an apology dinner.” Sara interrupted.

Michele sighs heavily, “Whatever.”

Emil was so tired of skating around Michele. He decided to have a little fun with dinner.

“You’re just jealous of my dinner. Did you want a French fry?” Emil said holding out a French fry towards Michele.

“Tch, get that out of my face you idiot.” Michele replied.

“I’ll take it.” Sara said as she grabbed Emil’s hand and ate the fry from his fingers. “Hmm, bene.”

Emil blushed and his hand just hung in the air as if he couldn’t believe what just transpired. Michele’s face went red as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table.

“What the fuck. . . I can’t even”. . . he fumed.

He left the table and stomped back towards his hotel room.  Emil and Sara looked at each other. Emil was startled and his eyes were wide.

He inquired “What did we do?”

“I really don’t know. I have never seen him get that mad before.” Sara said.

***

Michele let himself into the hotel room. Once inside he started furiously pacing the length the of the hotel room.

_What the hell! What was she thinking? What was HE thinking? What were they doing? Flirting?! Why do I even care? Damn it. What’s wrong with me?_

Michele slammed his fist on the bedside table bruising his hand. The sound of the jarring lamp seemed to surprise him. He sighed and flopped on the bed with his knees bent at the edge and his arm across his eyes. He didn’t notice or pretended not to notice the tears that were running down his face.

***

The skaters all came down for breakfast the next morning all looking worse for the wear. They all had been chasing their thoughts until the early morning. Emil gathered his gear and headed towards the competition rink. The men were up first so he changed into his short program costume, that contained purples and blues which were actually flattering to his coloring, and headed to the ice for his practice. He used to love the rock and roll piece for his short program but now that up-beatness just seemed forced. He nearly ran into Michele when he entered the ice. Emil, in a panic, threw himself against the wall of the rink. This was not going to be a good day. In practice, Emil just couldn’t seem to land his jumps. His footwork was messy. It was terrible. He skated off the ice and was met by his coach.

His coach asked, “What is wrong with you Emil?”

“Nothing.” He huffed as he put on his blade guards and walked away.

His coach watched him go with concern.

“Anton, do you have any idea what’s going on with him?”

Anton just shook his head.

Emil watch the other skaters’ routines from the back area on TV. Usually he loved watching with the crowd; he enjoyed the energy. Today he just couldn’t. It finally got close to being his turn. Michele would preform and then Chris. Emil’s turn was after Chris. He went down to the ice to watch Michele and wait for his start. Michele started his program.

_He is so beautiful, especially when he skates. How will I ever catch up to him? He will never love me like I love him. What am I even doing? I am not even worthy of being his friend. He was so mad last night. He may never talk to me again. What will I do then? Then it was his turn to skate, somehow he had missed all of Chris’s routine. How was he going to get through this?_

Michele finished his skate to applause. He had done well and his scores reflected it. After he was done in the kiss and cry, he took off his skates and sat next to his sister in the stands. He wanted to see the rest of the skaters. He had missed Chris’s routine. He settled down to watch Emil skate. It was a train wreck.

_Emil is usually so beautiful when he skates. He skates with so much energy. It’s like watching a different person skate today. What is he doing?_

Michele frowned.

_He is missing all his jumps. He should able to do quads but he is making them doubles instead. And when did that triple become a single? What is wrong with him?!_

His footwork was the worst that Michele had ever seen him do.

_If he doesn’t make this last jump this routine will be a complete failure._

Michele watched as Emil gathered himself for his final jump which was a triple loop. Michele knew he had missed it as soon as Emil was airborne. He had not launched it correctly. Michele watched as Emil crashed to the ice. He gasped and his heart stopped for a second. He stood up in concern trying to see Emil over the crowd.

_Was Emil okay?_

He saw Emil try to push himself to his feet only to slump down again on the ice.

_Oh, God he wasn’t getting up. Get up Emil, get up. Please don’t be hurt._

Sara stood up as well. She had tears streaming down her face. She clutched at her brother’s shoulder.

“Why isn’t he getting up?” Sara asked.

Michele just stood there in shock.

Sara thought T _his is all my fault. I took things too far last night and Emil is paying for it. Please, please don’t let him be hurt._

Michele shook his sister’s arm off his shoulder and for the first time he ignored Sara’s tears. Normally, her well-being was his first concern but not tonight. He needed to know if Emil was okay. He walked away from his sister and scrambled down towards the ice to see Emil. The whole arena was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Michele watched as the EMT’s skated out on the ice. They checked Emil over and helped him stand up. He was moving under his own power which was a good sign. The EMT’s supported him as they moved off the ice. They sat him on the bench in the kiss and cry. The arena was loud with sympathetic applause. Michele walked up to the kiss and cry in time to hear the EMT’s tell Emil’s coach that his knee was sprained and he needed to be pulled from the competition. They thought it wasn’t serious but they suggested a scan at the local hospital before they headed back to the Czech Republic. Michele’s eyes got wide as he heard the information but a sense of relief soon followed.

_That idiot. He could have really hurt himself. I am glad he is okay. No permanent damage it sounds like._

Michele walked up to the kiss and cry so that he was in Emil’s line of sight. For some reason, Michele needed Emil to know that he was there and that he cared about his well-being. Emil looked up at him as a blush of embarrassment flushed across his face.

Michele mouthed “Are you okay?” to Emil.

Emil nodded his head in affirmation. Michele nodded back that he understood and then went back to tell Sara that Emil was okay. He looked up at the scoreboard in time to see the letters DSQ next to Emil’s name.

***

Emil had never been so embarrassed by a performance in his life. He had failed in every aspect of his program and to add injury to insult had sprained his knee. He sat on the bench in the kiss and cry in emotional and physical pain. He had managed not to cry so far but he wondered how long his fortitude would last. He looked up in time to see Michele standing close to the kiss and cry. He watched as he mouthed are you okay? Emil felt a blush encompass his face. He nodded and watched Michele move away back into the crowd.

 _Michele cared enough to come and see if I was alright_?

Emil couldn’t believe it. That lifted his heart a bit before it came crashing down.

_Michele watched my awful performance. I don’t think I can face him again after that kind of failure._

Emil let his head sink down as drew in on himself trying to shut the rest of the world out. He did not notice when the tears began to trickle down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad about what I put Emil through in this chapter. I am so sorry. I didn't set out to physically hurt Emil. It was my sister's idea and it works in the story way better than my original plan.


	5. Talk, Talk, Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil and Sara have a talk. Anton and Sara have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is mostly conversations but they were needed to help us get where we are going.

It had been a difficult trek for Emil but he had finally made it to a seat next to the ice. He had refused Anton’s help feeling like he should be able to at least walk on his own, if nothing else. He had forgotten how hard it was to maneuver crutches.  It had been awhile since he had injured himself badly enough to need them.  He settled in his seat with the offending leg stretch out in the aisle to relieve the pressure on his knee.  His other leg was folded up against the chair.  He had really wanted to watch everyone’s long program.  He could see everyone out there on the ice practicing and warming up for their programs. He should have been out there, too. 

_ I am an idiot. How many times have I skated that program? And one of the few times Michele is there to watch it, I botch it so bad you would assume that I was an amateur instead of professional.  _

Emil heard someone clear their throat.  

He looked up to see Sara standing above him. Emil nodded his head towards the seat beside him and Sara sat down. An awkward silence reigned for a few moments before Sara began to speak. 

“I am so sorry.” She said tears starting to form in her eyes. “I can’t help but think this is my fault.”

“What?! Why?” Emil replied.  “How could you think that any of this is your fault?  I am the one that botched my program and got my stupid self hurt.”

Sara burst into tears.

Emil, starting to panic, said,”No, don’t cry.  It’s okay.  It’s just a sprain.  I’ll be fine for the next season.”  

“Next season? What about the Worlds?” Sara asked hiccuping.

“I am not going.  Anton will take my spot.  My leg won’t be healed by then.” Emil replied more calmly than he actually felt. 

Sara, feeling worse, started crying harder. Emil pulled Sara into a hug and she cried into his shoulder. Neither noticed Michele skating past as he was finishing his practice.  He caught the touching scene out of the corner of his eye. This caused him to whip his head around to get a better look at the sight which caused something in him to ignite.

_ What are they doing?  Is Sara crying?! Did Emil make her cry?  Is Emil crying?! _

He wondered.  He felt incensed and then concerned. 

_ Are they okay?  Should I go over there? _ _ What the Hell is going on?  Is this my fault?  Is Emil hurt worse than I thought?  _

Michele left the ice, took off his skates, (since he was skating in the last set) and stomped over to where Emil and Sara were sitting.

“What did you do to my sister.” he yelled at Emil.

“He is not going to the Worlds” Sara wailed.

“What!?” Michele said turning to look at Emil.  “I thought it was just a sprain.”

“It is, but it’s a bad one. My coach said that I can’t skate in the World’s just to be on the safe side.” Emil replied. 

“Oh, I am sorry man.  That sucks.” Michele replied. 

Sara’s eyes widened a bit as she noticed Michele’s hand on Emil’s shoulder. 

“I’ve got to go and get ready to skate.” Michele said as he reluctantly left the pair.  “Let’s meet up after the competition. “

Michele went back to the contestant’s area and began his pre-competition ritual. 

Sara, who had calmed down a bit, said “I want to apologize again for dinner.  I had no idea that Michele would get that mad.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Emil replied.

“I did have a purpose in mind when I did what I did.” Sara said.

Emil looked at Sara with one eyebrow raised.  


“Mickey has been acting a bit weird lately, so I wanted to test a theory I had.” Sara replied.  

“And?” Emil asked.

“I think Mickey might like you too.” Sara said.

“What?!” Emil said nearly falling out of his chair. “Are you sure?” 

“Not entirely, but I have a hunch.” Sara said.

“A hunch?” Emil asked.

“Well, he was really upset at dinner.” She said.

“That could have been over you instead of me.” Emil replied.

“He looked like he was going to have a heart attack when you got hurt.  And he abandoned me while I was crying to go see about you.” She said.

“He did what?.” Emil said.

“He left me in the stands.  I was crying and he didn’t even ask if I was okay.  He just ran off to see about you.” She replied.

“Oh.” Emil said.

“And just now he put a hand on your shoulder.   He never touches anyone.” Sara said.

“Okay, okay but how do we find out for sure. That could all be filed under concern for the only friend he has.  While it would be wonderful if he cared about me like I do him, I don’t want to ruin our friendship for a hunch or a maybe.” Emil replied.

“ I know.  I know. But we have got to do something because this is killing you.” Sara said motioning to his knee.

“Suggestions?” Emil asked.

“We need to come up with a plan to figure out how he feels.  Once we know that we will know how to proceed.” she said.

“What did you have in mind?” Emil warily asked.

“Let’s see how far we can push Michele.” Sara said.

“How?” Emil asked. 

“You flirt with me.” Sara replied.

“What?!” Emil said. 

“You pretend to flirt with me next time we are at a competition together, and you text me during the off season.” Sara replied. “Hopefully we will be able to gauge his feelings by his reaction. It’s sort of like what I did at dinner but on a larger scale.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Emil replied.  “Look what happened last time?” 

Sara blushed.  

“Have you got a better idea?  If so, I am listening” Sara said.

“No.” Emil replied.

“You need to know Emil.  You can’t hang in limbo forever.  I know it’s hurting you and I know it’s distracting you--you are gonna get hurt worse--if you don’t figure this out.” Sara said.

“I know.” Emil sighed.  “There is just no easy answer to this is there? It’s not like I can just ask him.”

“No.  But you are going to have to take a risk. It might be worth it?” Sara said.

“And it might ruin everything.” Emil sighed. 

All of sudden she lost Emil.  His attention was riveted to the ice. She looked up to see her brother on the ice.  

_ Look at Emil’s face.  I want someone to look at me that way.  _  Sara thought.  

_There is so much affection there.  It’s like who he is looking at is the most beautiful and important person in the world._ _I have got to help him._ _Michele deserves someone who cares this much and Emil deserves such happiness._

When Michele’s routine ended Emil turned back to Sara.

“Sorry, I got distracted.” He said.

“It’s okay. I understand.” Sara replied.  “We are going to work this out.  Don’t worry.” 

She reached over to hug Emil. She could see the tears in his eyes.  She felt for him.  He didn’t deserve the pain Michele was putting him through.

“Are you going to wait for Michele to get done or are you going back to your room?” Sara asked.

“I am really tired, emotionally and physically.  I think I will escape back to my room.  Give him my congrats and regrets at not being able to celebrate with him.” Emil replied.

“I will.” Sara said.

After watching the end of Victor’s program.  Emil got up from his seat and hobbled back to his hotel room.  He was so tired and so lonely. 

****

Michele had gotten tied up with the medal ceremony.  He had won third place behind Victor and Christophe. After the ceremony, he met with the reporters.  He was looking forward to celebrating with his sister and Emil.  Finally free, he went to find his sister. 

“Where is Emil?” Michele asked.

“He was tired.  He went back to his room.  He told me to tell you congrats and sorry that he couldn’t stick around to celebrate.”

“Oh.” Michele replied sounding a little disappointed. 

Sara was encouraged by his response.  Maybe her intuition wasn’t too far off.  

“Where would you like to go for dinner?” Sara asked.

“It doesn’t really matter.” Michele said. “You pick.  I am gonna get changed. I’ll be right back.”

While Michele was gone, Sara was approached by the other Czech skater that had come with Emil. 

_ He has beautiful brown eyes _ she thought as he approached her. 

“Hi, I’m Anton.” He introduced himself.

“Hi, Sara,” She replied.

“I am a rink mate of Emil’s.” He said.

“I know.” she replied.

“I know you are friends with Emil.” He said. “I wanted to talk to you because I am really worried about Emil.  Emil and I are not especially close these days and I wanted to talk to you, his friends to see if you could help. He hasn’t been himself lately.  Even Coach has noticed.” 

“I know.” She said.

“Are you privy to the reason?” Anton asked. 

“I am.” She said. 

“Are you the reason?” Anton asked.

Sara looking surprised said, “No, but I know who is.” 

“Ah.” Anton replied.  “Can you please help him, then? I am not adverse to going to the Worlds.  But I want to go because I beat him not because he got his silly self hurt thinking about a girl or whatever.  He’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve the torture that he is putting himself through.”

“I agree.” Sara replied. “Can I get your phone number or email so we can keep in touch?”

Anton looking surprised agreed and they exchanged numbers.

“I think we should keep in contact because you will be there to observe how he is doing.  You can let me know how he is so I can try to mitigate what is going on with him.  I won’t be able to see him for months since he is not going to the Worlds.” She said.

“I see where you are going.  Good idea.” Anton replied looking into her violet eyes.

_ Pretty _ he thought.

“Here comes my brother, you should go.  See you at the Worlds?” Sara asked.

“Definitely.” Anton replied. 

As Michele walked back to his sister, he noticed that the other Czech guy was talking to her.   _ What was with these Czech guys _ ? Michele wondered.

The Czech guy walked away from Sara as Michele walked up.

“Who was that?” Michele asked.

“Anton--a friend of Emil’s.” Sara replied. 

“I didn’t think Emil had any other friends.” Michele said.

“Mikey, why do you have to be so mean to Emil.” Sara said.

“Whatever, let’s go.” Michele replied somewhat downheartedly.  For once winning a medal didn’t feel like an accomplishment. It was hollow somehow.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anton is beginning to be a bigger character that I originally thought. Hope you guys like him okay. He is sort of inserting himself into the story. At least Michele is starting to be a little less dense?


	6. Anastasis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is worried about Emil. Emil is depressed. Sara and Anton meet at the Worlds. Emil watches Anastasis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another slow chapter. It has information we need to further the story. I promise more action in the next chapter.

Anton stood in front of Emil’s apartment. 

 _I haven’t been here in awhile. This is going to be awkward._

Anton knocked on the apartment door.  There was no answer. 

“I know you are in there, Emil.  Let me in.” Anton said.  “We are all worried about you.”

Silence.

 _I’ll just let myself in then._  

Using a key that Emil had given Anton when they had been going out, Anton let himself into the apartment.  He instantly wished that he hadn’t.  There were take out boxes strown all over the apartment.  It looked like Emil hadn’t cleaned up in weeks.  Emil was laying on the couch.  His eyes were glazed over as if he wasn’t watching whatever it was on the television.  His hair was bedraggled and his beard was out of control instead of nicely trimmed. His clothes were wrinkled and perhaps stained.  Anton couldn’t quite tell from the doorway.

“Hell, Emil.”  Anton swore.

Emil looked up when Anton spoke.

“What are you doing here?” Emil asked.

“Everyone at the rink was worried about you, especially Coach.  I volunteered to come check on you.” Anton replied.

“Why would you do that?” Emil asked turning away from Anton.

“Because you are my friend, or once were.  I still care about you, just not in the way you wanted.” Anton replied feeling a little guilty. 

_Emil might be dealing with his current problem so badly because of what happened to us. I can’t leave him like this.  I have to help him if I can. I also need to tell Sara about this.  This is partially my fault.  I think it’s going to take all of us to get through to him. I have never seen him this bad before._

“Go take a shower.” Anton said to Emil.

Emil started to protest.  Anton stopped him.

“That wasn’t a request.” Anton said.  “Either you go on your own or I will dump you in the bath myself.”

Emil hobbled to his room to grab some clean clothes and then made his way to the bathroom.  While he was in the shower, Anton picked up all the trash in the living room and took it down to the dumpster.  He also started a load of clothes for Emil.  With that bit of housecleaning done, the room almost looked habitable again.  Anton looked in the fridge to see if there was anything edible. 

_I can’t believe this.  Has he been living this way for the last couple of weeks? This is so unlike Emil._

This fridge was completely empty. About that time, Emil came out of the bathroom.  He hair was a least combed.

“You didn’t have to pick up.” Emil said, embarrassed.

“It was no problem.” Anton said.  “I am going to go get you some groceries.  I imagine shopping is difficult with your knee.  I’ll be right back.”

“You don’t . . .” Emil started but Anton had already left.

While he was on his way to the store, Anton texted Sara.  

“After the Worlds you should make plans to come visit Emil.  He isn’t doing well.”

“How bad is it?” Sara asked.

“Bad.” Anton replied. “I have never seen him this way before.”

“Poor Emil.  We could make a plan for me to come at the Worlds?” Sara asked.

“Definitely.” Anton replied. 

Anton put his phone in his pocket and went into the store.  He bought the things he knew that Emil liked.  He bought a lot of things that were healthier than take-out, but would be easy for Emil to fix. He carried the groceries back to Emil’s apartment and put them away.

“Do you need help with anything else?” Anton asked.

“No, you have done quite enough” Emil replied a little bit distant.

“Alright, then.  If you need anything you have my number.  I am going to check on you again before I go to Worlds.” Anton said as he let himself out of Emil’s apartment.  “Please take better care of yourself, Emil.  I promise this will all get better.”

“Sure.” Emil replied.  

 _I am glad he came._ Emil thought _.  I forget sometimes there are people who do care about me out there, especially when I get into one of these funks._

******

One Month Later

Anton and Sara had made plans to meet at a small cafe near the competition hotel.  Sara was excited to see Anton again although she would not admit it.  He had sounded worried over the phone when they had spoken about Emil. 

“Hi.” she said as Anton walked up to the table she was sitting at. She had arrived first and had already sat down with her coffee.

“Hi, you look nice today.” Anton replied.

Anton set down the black coffee he had ordered on the table.  Then slipped out of his leather jacket which he then slung on the back of his chair before sitting down.

“Thank you.” Sara replied blushing a little. _He looks good too_.  “You sounded worried on the phone.  What’s going on with Emil?”

“Nothing good.” Anton replied.  “I haven’t seen him this upset since we broke up.”

Sara choked on her coffee.

“Are you okay?” Anton asked.

Sara nodded her head.  When the choking fit passed she said, “You guys dated?”

 _Damn_ , she thought, _wonder if he swings both ways_?

“We broke up a couple of months ago.  I thought it was a friends with benefits thing but Emil got attached.” Anton said.

“And he took it hard when you guys broke up?” Sara asked.

“Very.  I feel bad about it.  I didn’t know he would get so attached.  I would have never gotten involved with him if I had known. I was actually happy when he seemed to be getting over me.” Anton said.

“But instead of really getting over you he fell harder for someone else.   And probably the experience with you is making it worse.”  Sara said.

Anton nodded.  “I wish you would tell me who he is interested in.”

“How would that do any good?  What, are you to ask them out for Emil? Emil needs to make his own decisions in this.  We just need to be here to support him either way.”  Sara said.

“But he’s not taking care of himself.  When I went by his apartment before I came here, it was a mess, again.  He didn’t have any food either.  I cleaned up his apartment as best I could without being too intrusive and got him some food. However, we need a more permanent fix. I know he will be some better when his knee heals.  But his knee is not the only thing that is broken.  He said he wasn’t going to even watch the Worlds.” Anton said.

“Not watch the Worlds?  Emil lives for skating.  He loves watching everyone else skate.  I can’t believe he would miss the opportunity to watch everyone’s program.  After all this is the last time we will be performing them.  We will all have new programs with the new season.” Sara said.

“I know.  That’s why I am so worried.” Anton said.

Sara had moved her hand from her coffee and placed it palm down on the table. Anton moved his hand to cover hers in a comforting gesture..  She blushed.  She wasn’t used to having a boy hit on her.  Usually Mickey chased them off long before they could even get close to her.

“So what can we really do?  It’s not like we can mend his broken heart.”  Sara asked.

“I thought that maybe you and Michele might come visit him in a couple of weeks.  He should be healed up soon and maybe a visit from you two will brighten his mood.” Anton said.

‘We could do that.  It will be the off season soon.  Michele and I should be able to take off a couple of weeks to come and see Emil. I am not sure that Michele will consent to going, though.  He likes to pretend he doesn’t care about Emil. ” Sara said.

“Even if it just you, I really think Emil needs his friends right now. And if you can talk Michele into coming I am sure Emil would want to see him too.” Anton said.

“Hmm, you have no idea.” Sara said under her breath as she nodded in agreement.

“What?” asked Anton.

“Nothing.” Sara replied.

They spent a few more minutes talking about mundane things.  People’s costumes and routines and about who they thought would win tomorrow.

“I hate to cut our time together short, but I have to go get ready for practice or Coach will have my head.” Anton said and he stood up and put his jacket on.  “I have to make a decent showing especially for Emil’s sake, since this is his spot. I enjoyed seeing you again.  I just wish we had happier things to talk about.”

He leaned over the table and tucked a stray piece of Sara’s hair behind her ear.  She shuddered and her face turned bright red.

“Me . . .too.” She replied. As she watched him leave the cafe she wondered how she could get to know Anton better.

****

Emil refused to watch the Worlds.  Normally, if he wasn’t part of a competition he tried to go and watch it live.  If he couldn’t do that, then he always watched it on TV.  He just couldn’t watch Anton take his place.  Not that he held it against Anton, it was his own damn fault for falling,  but he just couldn’t stand to watch it.  Instead of the World’s, he was watching some Sci-Fi movie.  He didn’t really watch a lot of these types of films, but this one had been on and had looked interesting when he flipped past. The movie was called Anastasis.  The movie called to him somehow.  It was about a world of humans with no emotions living in a world with no art, music, literature, dance or skating.  It seemed like a sad world to him and that fit with his mood.  It also featured some cyborg/human hybrids that also did not have emotions.  The protagonist was a man who had not taken the emotion controlling medicine and had started to get his feelings back*.  He was joined by a cyborg girl whose programming had malfunctioned so that she also had emotions.  They were trying to overthrow the tyrannical government and bring back emotion and the arts to the bleak world. It was a good film and Emil enjoyed the message.

_I would like to be a cyborg with no emotions.  It would be much better than this current misery.  That end credit music is cool.  Wonder if I could use it for my free skate next year?_

Anastasis, after all, meant to rise up which is what he would be doing in the new season after his injury. 

_My theme could be no longer human.  I better soften that somehow or everyone will be worried. Hmm.  How about Cyberpunk:  I am no longer human.  I will pack the long program with some difficult jumps and make it seem like that is why I chose this theme.  
_

Emil had a few ideas for his long program.  He made his way to the kitchen table to start sketching out the program.

_I’ll let Coach pick the short program music.  He’ll pick something classical to even it out._

Emil felt better than he had in awhile.  His knee was getting better.  He had a great idea for his long program.  And he had really enjoyed that movie.  All in all not a terrible day.  He looked online the next day to see who won the Worlds.  It was no surprise to see that Victor had won with Christophe and JJ coming in second and third. 

****

After the World’s, Sara began to think about planning a trip to Prague.  It would be good to see Emil.  She was really worried about him and to be honest she was slightly mad that her brother was being so dense and causing Emil so much pain.  And to be very honest she wouldn’t mind seeing that other skater, Anton, again. 

“Mickey?” Sara said as she walked into their living room.

“Hmm?” Mickey replied looking up from the book he was reading.

“I am going to go to Prague to visit Emil.  I think you should come with me.” Sara said.

“Why?” Mickey replied.

“Why am I going or why do I want you go with me?” Sara asked.

“Yes.” Mickey replied.

Sara sighed, _Why does my brother have to be so dense?  Emil would be so much better off without him._ “Emil has been feeling down ever since his injury and some of his rink mates thought that his friends visiting would cheer him up.  Besides, I have never really gotten to see Prague.  We have only been there for skating competitions. And you should go with me because you are Emil’s friend too, and I am sure he would like to see you.” Sara said.

Mickey thought _I really want to see Emil.  Seeing Emil would be nice since he didn’t come to the Worlds.  But I feel so weird and angry when I am around him.  I don’t know if I want to go, but I do really want to see him.  What is wrong with me?  I miss him._

“I’ll think about it.” Mickey replied.

“You do that.” Sara said.  “I am gonna buy my plane ticket.  I am going to go in two weeks. You can make your own arrangements if you decide to go.”

Michele spent the next 2 weeks see-sawing between wanting to go and not wanting to go.  He could never settle on an answer.  Sara watched him battle himself sighing and rolling her eyes the entire time.  Finally the night before her plane left, she saw her brother on the computer buying a ticket to Prague.

“So you finally decided to go, huh?” Sara asked as she stood in his bedroom doorway.

“Yup.” Mickey replied as he turned away from the door to start packing.

“I am glad you are going.” Sara replied.

“I think I am too.” Mickey said.

***

The next morning, they headed out of their apartment with their luggage.  They had packed for a two-week stay in Prague.  They also packed their skates figuring they could get a workout or two in at Emil’s rink.  They took a taxi to the Naples airport and caught their two hour flight to  Prague.  They had arranged for Anton to pick them up at the airport.  They would go straight to the rink from the airport because it was Emil’s first day back on the ice.  They wanted their visit to be a surprise so they hadn’t told Emil they were coming.  He was going to be in for quite the shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The movie Anastasis does not exist. It was made up for the show. I based the plot on an old Sci-Fi movie called Equilibrium which featured a young Christian Bale. Its a pretty good film. You should check it out if you haven't seen it.


	7. Prague Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele and Sara go to visit Emil in Prague for a two week holiday. Fluffiness ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this chapter is long. In fact, it really should be two chapters. But I just couldn't find a good place to cut it. This is the fluffiness and a little bit of sexiness that I am sure you have been waiting for. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Emil grabbed his gear and headed to the rink.  He carefully warmed up, testing his knee before putting on his skates and getting back onto the ice for the first time in weeks.    


“No jumps, yet.”  His Coach reminded.  “We still want to be careful of your knee and we have plenty time before the next competition.”

“Yes, Coach.”  Emil replied rolling his eyes.

It felt good to be back on the ice.  It made Emil feel whole again.  He had really missed being able to skate. He was so tired of being confined to his apartment and away from the sport that he loved.  Despite the time that Emil had spent away from the ice, his skating was still precise and smooth.  He tried out some of his new foot sequences for the Anastasis routine.  He was so focused on the ice and what he was doing that he did not see Sara and Michele enter the rink.  The both leaned on the barrier and just enjoyed watching their friend getting re-acquainted with the ice. When Michele saw Emil was heading to get a drink from the rink-side, he walked over to where Emil’s gear was sitting and picked up the bottle to hand it to him.  Emil still had not looked up from the ice.  He was too busy concentrating on not running into the other skaters. Emil noticed that someone was handing him his water bottle but he did not look up to see who.  He figured it was Anton who was still Hellbent on helping him until he got better.  Still, Anton had helped him quite a bit and it did not cost him anything to be polite.

“Děkuji*” Emil said.

“Prego*” Michele replied.

Hearing the unfamiliar language Emil looked up. 

“Michele?” Emil asked, confused.  “What are you doing here?” 

Emil’s brain was slow to catch up to his eyes.  He stared a Michele in disbelief like Michele was mirage.  Emil thought for a moment he had truly lost his mind and was seeing things. Then he realized it really was Michele.  

_ What is he doing here?  He looks so good.  I’ve missed him. _

For a moment Emil smiled his old radiant smile, and then it was almost like he collapsed in on himself. He was really glad to see Michele but dealing with him for several days while keeping his feelings hidden would be hard. 

“Surprise.” Sara said.

“Sara and I came to visit you for our vacation.” Michele added.

“Why?” Emil asked.

Michele frowned _Does there have to be a why?_ _Can’t we just visit our friend._ Michele was a little hurt by Emil’s question, although he did not yet know why. 

“We missed seeing you at the Worlds and Sara had this sudden desire to tour Prague.” Michele replied.

“Oh.” Emil started, “I am glad you both came then.  How long are you staying?”

“Two weeks.” Sara piped up.

“Two weeks!?” Emil replied.   _ Two weeks.  How am I going to manage this for two weeks? _

Sara blushed, “Well, there are so many things to see.  We wanted to make sure that we had time to see it all without wearing ourselves out.  Besides we rarely get to travel just for vacation.  And we planned a couple of days of practice on the ice if it is okay with your Coach.”

“I am sure Coach won’t mind Emil having a little more recovery time and allowing you and Michele to practice here a bit with Emil.” Anton replied.

Emil threw Anton a dirty look.   _ I just know he orchestrated this.  _

Sara said, her eyes sparkling with mischief, “This is going to be a great vacation.”

Emil said, “I need to practice for a couple more hours since this is my first day back.”

Michele replied, “We need to check in to our hotel, anyways.”

“Where are you staying?” Emil asked.

“The Ametyst.” Michele replied.

Emil nodded, “I know where that is.  It's supposed to be a good place to stay.”

Sara said, “How about we meet you for dinner?  That will let you finish practice and let us check in and settle in?”

“Sounds like a plan.  Do you have a ride to the hotel?” Emil asked.

“Yep, Anton said he would take us.” Sara replied.

“Ok,” Emil replied scowling at Anton.   _ I wonder what he is up to. _ “I will see you two in a few hours. 

Emil continued practicing his new routine while he waited for Anton to returned.   _ I can’t believe he knew about this and didn’t tell me.  What is he up to?  Why would he do this to me.   He should have told me so I could prepare for this.  Why am I so mad? _

When Anton returned to the skating rink, Emil confronted him.

“Did you know they were coming in advance?” Emil asked.

“Yep, Sara and I talked about it at the Worlds.” Anton replied.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Emil asked.

“Because you would have told them not to come.” Anton said.

“Damn straight.” Emil replied.

“Well, whether you know it or not you need to see your friends.” Anton replied.

“Stop trying to help me.  I don’t need  your help.” Emil yelled. 

  
Emil picked up his skates and stomped off to the dressing room.  He needed to get home and showered before the twins showed up and he was so done with Anton right now.  

However, he didn’t hear Anton say softly as Emil left, “Well, someone needs to help you before you self-destruct.”

*****

One Week Later

During the previous week, Emil and the twins had established a routine for their daily outings. Sara and Michele would come over to Emil’s apartment for breakfast, and then they would discuss their plans for the day. Currently, Emil was up and waiting for Sara and Michele to come over. He had gotten up early so he walked down the bakery near his apartment and picked up Kolaches which he knew the twins liked.  He barely beat Sara and Michele to his apartment.  When they arrived, they shared the Kolaches that Emil had bought. Emil made sure that Michele got the cream cheese one since he knew that Michele liked cream cheese the best. 

“Hmm, these are good.  Thanks for picking these up.”  Michele said.  “Although, they aren’t quite as good as the ones you gave me for Christmas. Where did you get those?”

Emil blushed.

Sara, giggling, hit her brother on the shoulder and said, “He made those for you, you idiot.”

Michele choked on his last bite of Kolache.  After Michele caught his breath, he replied, “Oh.”

Sara said, “Okay, what are we doing today.”

Michele asked, “Didn’t we decide to go to the Charles Bridge today?”

Sara replied,”Yep.”

Emil said, “If you are going to the bridge, I may bow out today.  The bridge is not my favorite landmark and if you guys don’t mind I will go skate today instead.”

Michele frowned but replied, “Sure.  That’s fine.”

Emil, noticing the frown, hurriedly added, “But we could meet up after for dinner?”

Sara replied, “That sounds good.  You want to meet back at your apartment after we both get done?  We can decide about dinner then?”

Emil replied, “Sounds like a plan.  See you both this evening then?”

Sara and Michele nodded at the same time. Then they all took off to their respective destinations.

**********

Later that evening

Emil got back to the apartment first.  He put up his gear and took a shower. He had just come out of bathroom and was still drying his hair when Sara and Michele walked into the apartment. 

Emil looked up when he heard the key in the lock.  

“Oh, hey guys. You’re back.” Emil said.

Michele looked at Emil when he spoke.  His hair was all tousled and the towel was draped around his shoulders. Michele’s eyes roved up and down Emil’s body.  Emil was still slightly damp from his shower which caused his clothes to stick to his body.  

Michele thought  _ Damn, has he always look this good? Wait, why am I even noticing how Emil looks?  He’s a guy.  I’m not into guys, am I? _

Michele turned his face away from Emil before he could catch him staring.  Michele felt his face turning red as he turned away.    
Sara looked at Michele with an eyebrow raised wondering what was going on with him.   _ Hmmm, interesting  _ she thought _. _

“What do you guys want to do for dinner?” Emil asked.

“Could we just order in?  I am so tired.  Sara dragged to every one of the 32 sight-seeing points on the bridge.  Now I know why you didn’t want to go.”  Michele said.

Emil chuckled, “Sure.  What should we get?”

Sara said, “How about curry?”

Emil replied, “That sounds good.”

Emil called a local place that delivered and ordered curry for all of them. After dinner, they decided to watch a movie. They settled on the couch.  Michele sat in the middle with Sara on one side and Emil on the other. 

“What do you want to watch?” Emil said as he flipped through the Netflix offerings.

“How about that action movie? Michele said as Emil flipped past some American Blockbuster film.  “I have been wanting to see that.” 

“Please, not another action film.”  Sara replied.

“I don’t know, sounds like it might be good.” Emil said.  

“Not you too, Emil.” Sara replied.

Emil shrugged his shoulders as if to apologize to Sara for siding with her brother.

Sara sighed knowing it was a lost cause. “Ok, let’s watch the action film.”

When Emil turned to look at the screen to start the movie, Michele turned to Sara and stuck out his tongue rubbing it in that he had won the movie choice this time.  At home, they almost always watched what Sara wanted to watch. They each got comfortable on the couch and settled in to watch the movie.  About halfway through the film, Michele could feel himself getting drowsy.  It wasn’t that the movie was bad but it had been a long day.  Sara had dragged him all over the place today.  He didn’t know where she found the energy, but then again she hadn’t been lying awake at night trying to figure out her feelings about a certain friend of theirs, either.

_ I’ll just close my eyes for a minute  _ Michele thought.

And that was it, Michele was out like a light.  Michele subconsciously leaned towards Emil in his sleep laying his head on Emil’s shoulder.  When he felt Michele’s head on his shoulder, Emil looked over at Sara with his eyes wide in a near panic.  Sara just looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders.  She was trying very hard not to giggle because they were just so darn cute together. Emil tried to relax and enjoy the closeness between him and Michele.  He took a deep breath, which was a mistake.  He got a lungful of Michele’s scent, which smelled fantastic. However, it did not help his body relax. He was mentally fighting his body’s arousal trying to calm himself down when he saw a flash.  He looked up and saw that Sara had taken a picture of Michele sleeping on Emil.  

“I can’t believe you took a picture of us.” Emil whined.

“You are just so cute together, I couldn’t help myself.”  Sara said.

She showed Emil the picture and it was cute.

Emil blushed.  “Could you send that to me.” He mumbled.

“What was that?” Sara asked teasing Emil a bit.  

“Would you please send me that picture?” Emil said.

Sara giggled, “Sure.”

Sara texted the picture to Emil.  

Emil picked up his phone and, with one hand as to not disturb Michele, changed the lock screen image to the picture of him and Michele.  That way he could look at it everyday.  He was suddenly glad that Michele and Sara had come to visit so that he could have this moment.  They sat through the rest of the movie even though Emil had stopping watching it long ago.  He was instead watching Michele sleep in case this was the only chance he got to be this close to him.  

After the movie was over, Sara turned to Emil and asked, “Can Michele stay the night with you?  He is so difficult to maneuver when he gets like this.  It would be a nightmare to get him back to the hotel.  I can bring him clean clothes when I come in the morning.” 

Emil just looked at Sara.   _ Oh God, Michele sleeping in my apartment!  Can I handle it?  Well, doesn’t matter.  I can’t ask Sara to trek him back if he is that difficult. _

“Sure.  We can just lay him down on the couch and let him sleep there.” Emil replied.  “After we get him settled, I will walk you back to the hotel.  Michele would kill me if I let you go alone.”

“Ok.” Sara said.

“Go into the bedroom and snag a pillow off my bed.  We can put it under his head when we lay him down.” Emil said.

Sara went into the bedroom and got the pillow.  

“Are we going to undress him?”, Emil asked blushing slightly.

“I guess we should.  It would be uncomfortable to sleep in our clothes.  He normally doesn’t wear anything to bed, anyways. Let me get his shirt off before we lay him down.” Sara said.

_ Dear God, he doesn't wear anything to bed.  How I am ever going to get that image out of my head?  _ Emil thought. 

She handed Emil the pillow and then she reached down and pulled Michele’s t-shirt off.  Emil’s hand accidentally made contact with the smooth skin of Michele’s side.  It send a spark of electricity up Emil’s arm that made him nearly jump off the couch.  Luckily, Michele was a heavy sleeper.  Emil clinched his hand to quell the desire to touch more of Michele’s exposed torso.  Sara helped Emil wrangle Michele until Emil could get up off the couch and they could lay Michele down on the couch.  Sara, feeling a little evil, made Emil take off Michele’s pants.  Emil was blushing the entire time. 

_ Damn, I’d like to do this again under other circumstances.  I’d love to run my hands all over his perfect physique.  _

Emil folded Michele's pants and put them on the coffee table along with his shirt.  He then went to the linen closet and got a spare blanket. They covered Michele with the blanket and then Emil walked Sara back to the hotel.  When he got back, he check on Michele who was still snugly tucked in on the couch and then he got ready for bed himself.  

 

******

 

Emil woke up.  It was still dark outside so he looked at the clock and it was 3am.  He needed to go to the bathroom so he got up and quietly padded through the living room to the bathroom on the other side.  Emil hadn’t thought to shut the curtains to the living room windows before he went to bed so moonlight was streaming into the living room.  Michele woke up when he heard Emil walking across the living room. He blinked his eyes open and watched as Emil moved across the living room.  Emil was only wearing his boxers and was backlit by the moonlight.  It gave him an ethereal look.  

_ Damn, is that Emil? God, he’s beautiful, especially in this light.  Wait, did I just call Emil beautiful, but … he is a guy.  And my friend.  I can’t be having these kinds of thoughts about Emil!!  It would ruin our friendship if he knew, right? God, what is wrong with me.  Why am I having these kind of thoughts.  I have never thought about anyone this way before. _

About that time Emil had finished in the bathroom and had wandered back through the living room.  He still didn’t notice that Michele was awake.  

_ Shit, I want to touch him.  I really want to see if his skin is as soft as it looks.  There is something really wrong with me. Why. . . why I am like this? _

Michele slung his arm over his face covering his eyes trying to hide from something that cannot be hidden from.  He slipped back into sleep where his dreams were filled with a certain sandy-haired Czech.   __

 

******

Next Morning

Michele woke up to someone humming.  It sounded like that popular American pop song he had been hearing everywhere.  He sat up and saw Emil walk-dancing through the living room.  He would walk a few steps and then do a little shimmy or step sequence.  It was about the cutest thing that Michele had ever seen.  Michele felt the urge to laugh bubble up in his chest.  He covered his mouth trying to stifle it, but he was unsuccessful.  At least it came out as a cough and not as a laugh.  Upon hearing the sound, Emil turned around and stared at Michele. When Michele sat up, the blanket that had been covering his chest slipped downwards giving Emil a good view of Michele’s rather defined abs.  

_ Shit, I forgot he was here.  God, look at him.  I am staring. I need to stop.  What will Michele think? He is nearly naked. . .I am nearly naked.   _

With that last thought a blush overtook Emil’s face.  He noted that Michele was staring at him too. 

_ I wonder what he is thinking.  _ Emil thought. 

Michele’s thoughts were wandering along the same path as Emil’s.

_ God, he is so cute and he is built.  Of course he is we are athletes after all, but look at those abs.  No don’t look.  Stop staring.  Do not look at his fine, fine legs either. I don’t think I have seen him in this stage of undress before.  Wait, am I dressed?  _

Michele looked down and for the first time noticed that he too was just clad in his boxers.  He didn’t remember falling asleep or disrobing.

_ So who undressed me!? _

Michele blushed.  He sincerely hoped that Emil had not been the one to undress him.  He was going to kill Sara next time he saw her.  

Emil, trying to recover himself, stuttered, “Uh, hmmm, ah.  Shower.  Yeah, shower.  I need to take a shower.  You can shower after me?  Sara is supposed to be bringing you clothes.”

Emil nearly dashed into the bathroom then he realized that he not brought any clothes with him.  He walked quickly with his head down into his bedroom.  He grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of jeans and ran back to the bathroom.  He had never been so embarrassed in his life. 

Michele laughed at Emil’s behavior.  This was going to be an interesting day.  Michele heard the shower stop and few minutes later Emil emerged from the bathroom.  Emil’s shower had given both boys time to sort themselves out after the embarrassment of the morning. 

“Sara said she would bring you some clothes this morning but shouldn’t she already be here by now?” Emil asked.

Michele turned his head to look at the clock on the wall.  “Yeah, normally we would have shown up here by now.”  

About that time Michele’s phone got a text from Sara. 

“I am going to spend the day with Anton.  I am sure you can borrow some clothes from Emil.  You boys have fun today.”

_ Sara, what the Hell. I am gonna kill her twice when I see her.  She knows something.  She must know how I feel and is torturing me.  _  Michele thought.

“What did she say?” Emil asked.

“She is spending the day with Anton.  I guess I am going to need to borrow some clothes?” Michele said.

Emil said. “Hmm, okay.  Let me see what I have.  I won’t have any pants that will fit you since I am taller, but I can probably find you a t-shirt and underwear.”  

Emil went back into his bedroom.  He picked out a t-shirt that was the same purple as Michele’s eyes.  He had never worn it.  He had bought it because it reminded him of Michele.  It would look stunning on him.  He also pulled out a new pack of boxers he had in a bottom drawer where he kept his new extra clothes. Emil was not much of a shopper especially for clothes.  He tended to buy a lot of items when he did go shopping, and then store them until needed.  He looked through some drawers and found a pair of cargo shorts that he hadn’t worn in awhile which might work for Michele.  He walked out of the bedroom to a waiting Michele. 

“Here is what I found.  T-shirt, black cargo shorts, and boxers.  See if any of this will work.” Emil said.

“Thank you.  I am going to go shower.” Michele replied.

“I’ll get some breakfast together while you clean up.” Emil said. 

Emil heard Michele coming out of the bathroom.  He was just finishing up the omelettes he was making for breakfast.  He let his eyes rove over Michele for a minute to see how the clothes fit.  

Emil thought.  _ Looks like the clothes worked out fairly well.  The shorts are a little tight but they hug his ass good.  I bet the shirt was a little long which is why he tucked it in.  He looks fantastic.  I could get used to this whole domestic thing. Can’t believe he is wearing my clothes.   _

Emil shivered and not from the cold.

“Clothes work out okay? Emil asked.

“Pretty well. The shorts are a bit tight but not uncomfortably so.  I think I can last for a day.” Michele replied.  

He had noticed how Emil had looked at him when he came out of the bathroom. 

_ Was he really checking me out? Or was he just concerned about the clothes?  This is driving me mad.   _

“Hungry?  Breakfast is ready.” Emil said interrupting Michele’s thoughts.

“Hmm, smells good.” Michele replied.

They sat down at the breakfast table to eat.

“What did you want to do today?” Emil asked.

“Hmm, I don’t really know.  Sara was the one always deciding where to go.  Have any suggestions?” Michele asked. 

_ I could think of a place or two I’d like to have you. What is wrong with me.  It must be the fact he is wearing my clothes.  It’s killing me. _  Emil thought but he replied, “I know you like to read so how about we go to the Clementinum.  It has the National Library in it and some really nice architecture.  Plus we can go up the Astronomical Tower, which has a fantastic view.  We can have more of a laid back day to counter yesterday.” 

“Sounds like a great idea.” Michele said.  

_ I wonder what Sara and Anton are up to, today.  I am not going to worry about it though.  She is a big girl and Anton is a fellow skater and a friend of Emil’s.  I am not going to ruin our day together thinking about it.   _

If anyone could have heard Michele’s thoughts they would have been absolutely stunned. 

 

*****

At the Clementinum, Emil let Michele wander through the books looking at whatever he wanted.  Emil was a not bookish person.  He would rather be outside doing his extreme sports but he loved watching Michele in his element.  Michele loved books especially old books, and this library had a lot of books, over 6 million the brochure said.  

_ I hope Emil is not too bored.   _ Michele thought.  

When Michele was done wandering through the books, they took a tour of the Clementinum.  The tour guide took them to see all the great architectural aspects of the building and told them some of the history behind it.  Afterwards, they went up in the Astronomical Tower to look at the view.  Emil even got another tourist to take a picture of the two of them with the fantastic view behind them.  

“The picture turned out great, Michele.  Want me to text it to you?”  Emil said.  _ Not as great as the one I got the night before, but, well, almost nothing would be.  _

“Sure, it would be good to have at least one picture of us from the trip.” Michele said.

Michele looked at the picture when he received it from Emil.   _ That is a good picture of us.  I think this is going to be my new lock screen.  Emil will never have to know.  _

It was getting close to dinnertime when Michele and Emil decided to head back to Emil’s apartment.  They figured Sara would show up to eat dinner with them. 

Emil thought  _ This has been a great day.  One of the better ones that I have had.  I kinda don’t want it to end. _

Sara was waiting for them when they got to the apartment.

“Have a good day, boys?” She asked.

“We did.”  Michele replied.

“Where did you go?” Sara asked.

“The Clementinum to see the library.” Michele replied.

“Oh, I bet it was nice, but I’m glad I got out of that one.  Michele loves books way more than me and he can take forever just looking at the old dusty things.’” Sara replied.  “Were you bored, Emil?”

“Nope.  It was a pleasant day, I thought.” Emil replied.

Michele blushed.  He knew that Emil had tolerated him going through the library.  He had done it more quietly and gracefully than Michele had thought possible.  Maybe he needed to rethink his opinion of the Czech boy.

Michele asked, “Are you two ready to go to dinner.”

Sara replied, “Yes, I am starving.  Can we go back to that cute cafe down the street?”

Emil replied, “Sure, if it’s okay with Michele.”

Michele replied, “Sounds find to me.”

It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

 

****

All too soon, the twins’ vacation was over.  What had sounded like an impossibly long time to Emil when they arrived had flown by.  He had really enjoyed Sara and Michele’s company.  He was going to be so lonely when they left, but he had made some really great memories from the trip and he had a few really great pictures to look back on.  He went to go pick up the twins from their hotel to take them to the airport.  Michele took the front seat and made Sara sit in the back.  The move wasn’t lost on Sara or Emil.  

“Here are your clothes back, Emil.  I had them laundered at the hotel.” Michele said.

“You didn’t have to do that.”  Emil replied.  “Keep the shirt.  The color suits you better than it does me anyways.”

Michele blushed (he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately), and quickly stuffed the shirt in his carry-on like he thought Emil might change his mind. He handed the black shorts to Sara who laid them on the back seat. 

“I hope you both enjoyed you stay here.” Emil said.

“We did very much.  Thanks for taking time to play tour guide for us.” Sara said.

“Yes, thank you. . . Emil. . .for everything” Michele said in a low timber.

Now it was Emil’s turn to blush.  

“Uh…you are both very welcome.  I enjoyed having both of you here.  I think I needed a vacation like this too, and you guys being here made me take one.” Emil replied. 

Emil pulled up to the airport and got out to help the twins retrieve their bags.  Sara gave him a hug and so did Michele (pretending to be reluctant).  

“I’ll see you two sometime in the next season?” Emil asked.

“Looking forward to it” the twins chimed in together.

“Don’t be a stranger.  I expect calls or texts regularly.” Sara said.

Michele sent Emil a look which might have said me too, but I don’t want to admit it. 

As he watched the Crispinos walk into the airport terminal, Emil was starting to wonder what was going on with Michele.  He seemed different since the night at Emil’s apartment.  

_ I wonder if he figured out that I like him and he doesn’t know how to respond? Well, Michele being who he is, I am sure he will tell me. . . eventually. _

 

********

While Michele and Sara were waiting to board their plane, Sara decided to scroll through all the pictures she took on their vacation.  She smiled at the few pictures of her and Anton.  Their day had gone surprisingly well.  She noticed that Michele was looking over her shoulder at the pictures.  She quickly scrolled past the ones of her and Anton.  She could look at those later.  She had forgotten about the picture she had taken of Emil and Michele that night at Emil’s apartment.  It surprised her a little when it scrolled past.  She tried to quickly scroll to the next picture before Michele noticed it but it was too late.  Michele had seen the picture.

“What was that?  Go back.”  Michele said.

Sara sighed.   _ Damn, Emil is going to kill me.   _ She scrolled back to the picture and showed it to Michele.

“When did you take that picture.” Michele asked.

“That night you fell asleep at Emil’s apartment.  You actually fell asleep on Emil.  It was so cute I couldn’t resist taking a picture.” Sara said.

Michele groaned.  He was so embarrassed. 

“Does Emil know about this picture?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sara said hesitantly, “he saw it after I took it. He tried to get me to erase it but it was just too cute to delete.”

_ I can’t believe I fell asleep on Emil! How embarrassing.  But she is right, it is too cute to delete.  How big a deal is she going to make of it if I ask her for a copy.  It is worth the harassment?. . Definitely.  I  _ _ need  _ _ that picture. _

“Can you text it to me?” Michele asked very quietly.

“What?  I couldn’t quite hear you.” Sara teased.

“Damn it, Sara.  Send me a copy of the stupid picture.” Michele said.

Sara giggled, “Sure.”  She texted her brother a copy of the picture and she watched as he made it his lock screen picture.  He thought she wouldn’t notice.

_ This trip turned out better than I hoped.  I think my brother is smitten with Emil.  Now all I have to do is get them to see that the other is interested.   _ Sara thought.  

And the gears in her pretty head began to turn and she started making plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Czech) Děkuji--Thank you  
> (Italian) Prego--You are welcome.
> 
> I speak neither Czech nor Italian so I hope I have select the correct words here. If I have made a mistake, please let me know. In other news, my computer thinks I am planning a trip to Prague. The hotel and landmarks are real places in Prague. After looking up all the information on Prague, it is officially on my list of places to visit before I die. And I got to try Kolaches, there is a bakery in a town close to mine that makes them. They are very good.


	8. Skate Canada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil catches up with the Twins at Skate Canada.

Several Months later

 

Emil entered the hotel that all the contestants would be staying at during Skate Canada.  He looked across the lobby and spied two familiar dark heads in the crowd.

“Sara! Michele!” Emil called.

The twins turned in unison to look at Emil.  He started across the lobby to meet them.  Sara hurried excitedly towards Emil, and Michele walked more slowly trying to pretend he didn’t care about seeing Emil.  

While Michele was walking towards Emil he thought  _ he looks so good.  It’s good to see him.  Wait, why I am glad to see him.  He is my friend, right? But I am really glad to see him, and I want him to talk to me, not Sara.  What the Hell is wrong with me? _

Unbeknownst to Michele, his signature scowl had begun to turn into a smile. Emil noticed that Michele had smiled as he walked up.  He thought  _ that’s new.  Wonder what he is smiling about.  Whatever it is, he should do it more often, because he looks so good when he smiles. It lights up his face.   _

About that time Sara reached Emil and drew him into a hug.

“It’s so good to see you.  It feels like it has been forever since we visited you.  How have you been?” Sara asked.

Emil noticed that Michele frowned a bit when Sara hugged Emil.   _ Is he still on that thing where he doesn’t want guys hugging Sara? _

“I’ve been good.  It is good to see both of you, too.  I can’t wait to see your new routine, Sara.” Emil replied.

“So. . . you want to have dinner with us?” Michele asked wanting to spend more time with Emil. 

Sara and Emil turned and looked at Michele like he had grown a second head.

“Did. . .did you just invite me to dinner?” Emil asked.

“Yeah, why?” Michele asked.

“Because this is only the second time you have ever invited me to dinner. And the only time you did it voluntarily.” Emil said.

“Really?” Michele asked.

“Yes, really.” Sara replied.  “Usually, I ask him and you just act like you are tolerating his presence.  Are you feeling okay?”

Michele blushed.  “Yes, I am fine.  Are you going to eat with us or not.”

Emil replied, “Of course I will.”

Emil pulled Michele into a hug.  Michele blushed harder and pulled away.  “I didn’t say you could maul me.  I just said you could have dinner with us.” 

Sara laughed. “Why don’t you meet us back here at 6, Emil.  That will give us all time to check in and unpack.”

Emil replied, “Sounds good.  See you both in a bit.”

***

They met up at 6 in the lobby and decided to go to the hotel restaurant since Emil and Sara had to skate the next day.  When they sat down this time, Sara behaved herself and sat by her brother.  They ordered their food and chatted about what they had done during the summer.  

Michele said, “Hey, Sara let me out.  I need to go to the restroom.”

Sara let Michele out of the booth.  Once he had left, she noticed that he had left his phone on the table.  Sara reached over and snagged her brother’s phone.  

“Hey, Emil.  Check this out.” Sara said as she hit the home button on Michele’s phone. She showed Emil her brother’s lock screen picture.  

“Is that?” Emil asked.

“Yep.” Sara replied.

“How did he get that picture?” Emil asked.

“I gave it to him of course.” Sara replied.

Emil put his head in his hands his voice muffled as he asked, “Why does he even know about that picture?  And why is it his lock screen?”

“He saw it when I was scrolling through my pictures after our vacation and asked for it.” Sara replied.  “And why is it his lock screen, well, I think you know the answer to that without me telling you.  Here he comes, gimme back the phone.”

Sara quickly put the phone back to where Michele had left it.  Sara let Michele back into the booth.  He looked at both their faces. 

“I’ve missed something, haven’t I?” He asked.

“Nope, nothing.” Emil replied too quickly.  

Emil was strangely quiet throughout the rest of the meal.  He was too caught up in his thoughts and what that picture might mean.  It would have really thrown him for a loop if he knew that Michele’s background was the picture they took at the tower just like on his phone. 

Michele wondered what had happened.   _ Everything was going fine until I left.  What did Sara say to him?  Does she know how I feel about him?  Oh God, could she have told him how I feel?  That would not be good. What’s going on? _

They finished their meal and decided to go to bed early so Sara and Emil could rest before the competition tomorrow.  

When they got back to their room, Michele asked, “What did you do to Emil?  Everything was fine before I left and when I got back he had completely shut down.”

Sara replied, “Uh. . .nothing.”

Michele said, “Don’t nothing me.” 

Sara giggled, “Not telling.”

Michele, knowing he couldn’t win against his sister when she was like this sighed, and said, “Fine.  I am going to bed.”

******

The Next Day

Emil was in the dressing room changing into his performance clothes.  As he slipped into the black poet’s shirt and sparkly vest, his mind couldn’t help but to revisit the night before.

_ I can’t believe he has that picture on his phone.  Does this mean I have a chance? Can’t think about that, now.  I need to get out there and do this new routine justice.  I have a quad loop in this one and I can’t afford to be distracted. _

Emil left the dressing room and began his warm up routine and soon enough it was his turn to skate.  He hoped that Michele and Sara were in the audience watching.  He skated to the middle of the ice and took a deep breath.  Then his music started.  This was the piece that his Coach picked.  It was called  _ The Hut on Fowl’s Legs _ by Mussorgsky*.  It was a little bit of a fantastical piece but sounded a bit darker than his normal fare.  It was a piano version of the piece.  The routine required him to do a quad loop right off the bat.  He nailed it and the rest of his routine went well.  He only made one mistake which was pretty good for the first time competing with a new routine.  He was in first place when he finished his routine but both JJ and Yuri were left to skate after him.  He made his way through the media gauntlet and he was in third place after JJ and Yuri skated.    


After he got changed, he ran into Sara and Michele.  Sara ran up to him and gave him a hug. 

She said, “That was great.” 

Emil replied, “Thanks.”

Michele said, “Those were some great jumps.  When did you add the quad loop to your repertoire?”

Emil replied, “This summer.”

Michele, feeling a little outdone by the younger man, said, “Hmm.”

Emil asked, “Do you two want to grab something to eat before we go back to the hotel.  I am starving.”

Sara replied, “Sure.”

The trio grabbed a bite at a little diner between the hotel and the rink.  When they got to the hotel Emil split from the twins claiming he was tired and needed to go to bed early.  Sara and Michele watched Emil walk away.  Normally, he would hang out with them until they made him leave.

Michele wondered  _ What’s up with Emil?  I mean he seems to be happier but he is quieter.  Did we do something to push him away?  He did so well today.  I am so proud of him.  Not that I am going to tell him that.  _

Michele said, “Sara, is there something wrong with Emil?”

Sara asked,”What makes you ask?”

Michele replied, “He has been quiet the last couple of days.”

Sara replied,”I think he has something on his mind.”

Michele said, “Hmm, okay.  I am just a little worried about him.  He hasn’t seemed like himself for a while now.”

Sara thought  _ Maybe, just maybe, my brother isn’t as blind as I thought. _

By this time, Emil was out of sight of the twins so they decide to head up to their room and watch some TV.

*****

Emil thought as he went to his room.   _ Michele was watching.  I am so glad.  He was impressed with my jumps too!  I am so glad I practiced so hard on them.  I am glad I did well this time instead of fucking everything up like last time.  I still can’t believe he has that picture on his phone.  What does that mean? Why would he have that photo? What am I going to do about it? Can I do anything?  Why isn’t this easier?   _

He let himself into his room and left his bag by the door.  He got ready for bed and then laid awake in his bed letting his mind wander as he chased thoughts of Michele around and around in his head. 

********

The Next Day

Emil grabbed his skating outfit and headed to the rink.  He would be skating in the last set since he was currently ranked third in the competition.  He got dressed in his electric blue outfit.  He was excited to skate Anastasis for the first time.  He had worked hard on it and the routine meant a lot to him. He hoped the twins would like it.  He went through his warm-up routine and then it was time.  He skated to the middle of the rink and closed his eyes.  He heard the first few notes play of the song that had become as much a part of him as his heart beat.  And then he started, this was the routine he had put his heart and soul in, and it showed.  With all the jumps in the routine, the difficulty was high.  So was the payoff if he could skate it cleanly. But it was the emotional aspect of the routine that was the real payoff for Emil.  It summed up the last year for him and gave him somewhere to lay all that angst so it wasn’t in him anymore. Or at least it made it all more bearable. 

Sara gasped as Emil started his routine.   _ It’s so cold and sad. It is so unlike Emil.  Is this how he has felt this whole time?  We broke Emil.  Oh God, Mickey broke him and doesn’t even know what he has done. How do we fix it?  We need to fix it.  We cannot leave him like this.  I thought he was okay, but he is not.   _

“What is Emil’s theme this year?” She asked.

Michele replied, “I don’t know.  I didn’t ask him.”

“Is it in the program?” She asked.

“Let me look.” Michele replied.

He flipped through the program to the information about Emil.

“Ah, here it is.  It says his theme is Cyberpunk: I'm No Longer Human.” Michele said.

Michele looked over at Sara to see a couple of tears escape and run down her cheek.

Michele asked, “Sara, what is wrong?”

Sara replied, “I just feel bad for Emil.  He has been hurting, obviously, for a while if this routine is any indication.  He has put it all in that routine for everyone to see and so he can escape it.  He has put a lot of jumps in it to hide the fact that the theme is reflective of his heart.  He wants people to think the theme is because of the difficulty of this routine, but it’s not.”

Michele looked at his sister for a moment and then he looked back at Emil and his routine.  _ She’s right.  He has been strange for awhile.  Now I see it was because he was in pain.  Who hurt him, I wonder.  Who would hurt him?  I’d like to get my hands on that person.   _

Michele watched as Emil finished his routine.  It hasn’t been perfect but it was enough to let him keep third place.  He was going to medal.

Michele said, “Don’t cry Sara.  We’ll be there for him and help him, if we can.  He won't have to face this alone, anymore.”

Sara startled at Michele’s words. 

She looked over at him and replied, “Okay.”

They waited through the medal ceremony, proud of their friend for coming in 3rd behind JJ (first place) and Yuri (second place).  They waited while he talked to the press.  Finally, when he was through with all that they caught up to him near the dressing room.

Sara hugged Emil, “I am so proud of you.  Your long program was awesome.  If you can skate it perfect you could even beat JJ with it.”

Sara looked at Michele encouraging him to say something.

Michele walked up to Emil and Sara moved out of the space.  He hugged Emil.  Sara and Emil gasped. Emil blushed.

Michele said, “Congrats.  You deserve that medal.  Sara’s right.  If you can nail all your jumps in that program you could beat JJ with it. 

Emil blushed more at the praise and said, “I. . .uh. . .thanks?”

Michele, not noticing the effect he was having on Emil, stepped back out of his personal space and said, “So what do you two want to do to celebrate Emil’s win?  Drinks?”

Emil said, “Don’t forget Sara got second this morning. We are celebrating that, too.”

Sara blushed and replied, “I hear there is a good club nearby.  I had wanted to go and check it out.  Maybe we could go there and celebrate?”

Emil replied, “Sounds good.  I haven’t been dancing in a while.”

Sara replied, “Shall we meet in the lobby at 9?  That will give us time to eat and change before going out?”

Emil replied, “Sounds like a plan.  I will see you both then.”

Sara and Michele headed back to the hotel.  Emil changed back into his street clothes, grabbed his gear, and also headed back to the hotel.

*********

Later that evening. 

When Emil stepped out of the elevator, Michele nearly choked.   _ Damn, he looks good.  That blue shirt brings out his eyes.   How am I going to keep the girls off of him. Wait. . .What?  Those pants are sinful.  How did he even get them on? They hug him in all the right places.  God, my mind needs to stop.  I can’t be thinking this way about my male friend! _

Emil waved to the twins. 

When he reached them he took Sara’s hand and kissed it. 

“You look lovely.” He said.

“Thank you,” Sara replied. 

Emil slung one arm around each of the Crispino twins.  “Shall we go?” 

“Let’s” Sara replied.

As they started out of the lobby of the hotel, Emil whispered into Michele’s ear, “You look good, too.  I love that violet color on you.”

Michele shivered as Emil’s breath brushed over his ear and then blushed at his words.  He couldn’t believe that Emil had said that and he couldn’t believe how fast his heart was racing because of a complement from Emil. 

When they got into the club they luckily found an unoccupied table.  They all sat down. 

Emil got up and said, “I am going to go get us some drinks.   Be right back.”

Michele grumbled, “He didn’t even ask us what we wanted.”

Sara laughed, “That’s because he already knows what we like.  He pays attention to that kind of thing.”

Emil had left his phone on the table when he left to get drinks.  It was in easy view of both Sara and Michele.  A congratulatory text came in from Christophe, lighting up the phone and showing the lock screen picture.  Michele started as he recognized the picture.

“You didn’t tell me you sent it to him, too.” Michele said to his sister.

“You didn’t ask.” Sara replied.

Emil interrupted by returning before the conversation could go any further.  He set a beer down for himself, and set a glass of wine in front of each twin. White wine for Sara and red for Michele.  They sipped their drinks in silence for a moment.  

Emil said, “We are way to subdued for a celebration.  Let’s get on the dance floor.”  He bolted the rest of his beer and then grabbed each of the twin’s hands and dragged them to the dance floor.

Emil danced like he skated, with exuberance and wild abandon.  Michele also danced like he skated.  It was delicate and almost planned.  When Emil pulled them out on the dance floor, they all started out clustered together.  They began to drift apart as other people inserted themselves into their group.  Guys came in and danced with Sara.  At first, Michele frowned every time a new guy began dancing with his sister, but then he became too involved with watching Emil to care about her. 

_ He moves well on the dance floor.  I really wish those girls would leave him alone.  I know he is not interested in them, you can tell by the space he keeps between himself and them.   _

And then a guy began dancing with Emil.  Emil got a little closer to the guy than the girls he had been dancing with, and the girls got the message that he was into guys, not girls. Michele also noticed.   _ He is dancing with a guy.  Is he into guys?  Why have I never noticed it before.  Why do I care?  I don’t want that guy getting any closer to Emil. He is way too far into Emil’s space.  _

When the next song started, Michele got in between Emil and the guy.  Both boys had consumed quite a few glasses of alcohol by that point.  They had taken breaks from dancing every so often and had a drink.  Sara was taking one such break now, sipping on her wine while she watched the scene unfold.  

Michele and Emil were dancing pretty close to one another. Michele was purposely dancing close to Emil so no one else could get between them.  The alcohol had made Emil bold.   _ There is too much space between us,  _ he thought as he rested one of his hands on Michele’s waist.  Michele didn’t protest and they danced for a song like that.  Then Emil decided to push his luck.  He lowered his hand and rested his palm against Michele’s ass.  When Michele didn’t protest he used the leverage to bring Michele even closer.  The line of their bodies was now touching and their dancing had turned more into grinding against each other.   _ This has to be a dream.   _ Emil thought.   _ Or I have died and gone to Heaven.  _ Both boys were flushed from the dancing and other things. Emil’s eyes dropped to focus on Michele’s lips.  He tipped Michele’s chin upward as he leaned down and captured Michele’s lips in reckless and desperate kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. That is an evil place to end the chapter, but just wait until the next chapter. We are almost there. 
> 
> *The Hut on Fowl's Legs (piano version) is Emil's short program music. I don't know how someone figured it out with the few bars we are given in the show, but they did. It is one of the few pieces not on the soundtrack but you can get a version of it from Itunes.


	9. It Was Only a Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the kiss at the club and Emil's exhibition skate for Skate Canada.

He tipped Michele’s chin upward as he leaned down and captured Michele’s lips in a reckless and desperate kiss.  What Emil was so sure would happen, didn’t happen. Michele did not draw back in disgust or hit him.   _ His lips are so soft,  _ thought Emil as he felt Michele’s hands slide into his hair.  Emil’s hand slid up Michele’s back while the one that had been gripping his chin had found it’s way into Michele’s soft auburn hair.  Emil reluctantly broke off the kiss so they could breathe and pulled back from Michele.  Michele made a small sound in protest. Then he brought Emil’s head back down and kissed Emil back.  Where Emil’s kiss was chaste, a question; Michele’s was the answer, a deep passionate answer. Michele ran his tongue across Emil’s lips which he opened to allow Michele access.  He groaned deep in his throat when felt Michele’s tongue slide across  his own.  When the kiss ended, Emil looked down into Michele’s violet eyes to see the same emotions he was feeling, swirling there.  And then the moment was broken as the music stopped for a second and in the silence, they both seem to remember where they were.  Each boy took a step back and blushed.  

Emil cleared his throat, “Uh, hmm, I think I need another drink, want anything?”

Michele replied, “Emm, yeah, whatever you are having is fine.  I’ll meet you back at the table.” 

Michele wandered back to the table where Sara was currently sitting. His mind finally processing the previous moment.  

_ I kissed Emil.  I KISSED EMIL!! Oh my God, I kissed Emil.   _

Michele sat down at the table facing his sister.  When he looked up and met Sara’s eyes, he noticed that they were open wide almost completely dilated, and her mouth was open as if she was going to speak.  

_ She saw it.  She saw what I did.  What did I do?  How can I ever face Emil again.  _

Michele spotted Emil making his way back towards the table.  

_ He’s coming back.  I can’t face him now.  We have to leave.  _

Michele grabbed Sara’s hand and and said, “We have to leave, now!”

Sara replied, “What do you mean we have to leave.  What about Emil?”

Michele said, “I just can’t, right now.  We have to go.”

Sara said, “But. . .But we can’t leave Emil here by himself.”

Michele didn’t answer. He just pulled Sara up from the table, and dragged her towards the front of the club forcing her into the cold night air.  

 

****

Emil watched in confusion as Michele and Sara left.  

_ Did they just leave me?  Why? What did I do?  _

Emil sat down at the now empty table and shot the whiskey he had brought for himself. And then Emil touched his lips with his fingers.  

_ I can’t believe I kissed Michele. I can’t believe they left me here.  Does he hate me now?  Damn, what am I going to do?  What if I have just lost my best friends? _

With that thought, Emil downed the shot he had bought for Michele, and it was not his last shot of the evening.

****

Michele threw open the door to their hotel room and listened with satisfaction as it banged against the wall.

Sara said, rubbing her wrist, “What the Hell, Michele.  That hurt.  I can’t believe you left Emil at the club by himself.  What is wrong with you?”

Michele sat on the bed and put his head in his hands and replied, “I don’t know.  I . . .don’t. . know.  I just panicked.  I kissed my best friend and then I panicked.  What do I do?”

Sara replied softly, “Oh, Mickey what have you done?”

Michele looked up at Sara and she could see that tears were starting to run down his face.  She had never seen her brother looking so broken before.

Michele replied, “I don’t know.  Something terrible.  How do I fix this?  Is it fixable?  Oh God, Sara, what do I do? I don’t want to lose him.”

Sara sat down next to Michele on the bed.  She put an arm around her brother and laid her head on his shoulder.   All she could do was offer him emotional support since she couldn’t begin to think about how this could be repaired. 

_ First things, first, someone needs to go and fetch Emil before he drinks himself into oblivion. If I know that boy, that is what he is doing right now.  Who is here at the competition that could fetch him?  I’d rather not involve his coach and Anton didn’t come this time.  None of the boys we know are here, just JJ and Yuri and both of those would just be a disaster.  Maybe Mila?  She might be my best bet.   _

Sara pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Mila.

“Hey girl, could you do me a favor?” 

Mila replied, “Probably, what’s up?”

Sara texted, “My brother had a fight with Emil and made me leave him at the club we were at.  I am worried about him.  Could you go check on him and maybe bring him back to the hotel?”

Mila replied, “Sure, but you are going to owe me one.”

Sara texted, “Definitely. Thank you.”

With that taken care of Sara could focus on her brother and how to get the boys out of the mess that they had made.

*****

Mila threw on a jacket and headed to the club.  Once she got inside, she spotted Emil sitting by himself at a table.  There were half a dozen empty shot glasses sitting on the table. Mila had a feeling that Emil had drank those after Sara and Michele left. 

_ Sara, what have you gotten me into? _

She sat down at the table and said, “Hey, Emil, how are you doing.”

“Mila?  What are you doing here?” Emil replied.

“Sara asked me to come check on you.” Mila said.

“They left me.  I can’t believe they left me.” Emil said sadly.  “It was going so well and then he just left.”

Emil was almost in tears.

_ What the Hell is going on here?   _ Mila thought.   _ Sara has got some explaining to do.  _

“What is wrong with me?  Why did he leave?  I thought he liked me too.  I mean he kissed me back!” Emil mumbled.  

_ By he, does he mean Michele?!  Emil and Michele together.  Can’t say I saw that one coming, but it makes a weird kind of sense.  Sounds like Emil is all in but Michele is balking a little bit.  _

“Emil, maybe he was just shocked or scared?” Mila suggested.  “I mean, I am not sure that Michele has had any type of relationship before.”

“Maybe, but I am not sure how much more of this I can take.  I am at my limit.” Emil said.

Mila laid a hand on Emil’s shoulder. 

“I totally understand, and I will absolutely listen to you gripe about Michele tomorrow when you are hungover.  However, tonight I need to get you back to the hotel.  Don’t you have an exhibition skate tomorrow?” Mila asked. 

“Don’t care.  Want to stay here and drink.” Emil replied.

“You have had enough, Emil.  Let’s go.  Sara’s worried about you, and I said I would get you back to the hotel.  So let’s go.” Mila said as she stood up.

Mila went to the bar and made sure that Emil’s tab had been paid and then physically hoisted Emil out of his seat directing him towards the door.  They picked up his jacket at the door and she wrestled Emil into it.  Somehow, Mila managed to get Emil back to the hotel and into his bed in his room.

_ That boy is going to have one Hell of a hangover tomorrow as well as some more battered heart.  I don’t envy him at all.  Now I need to call Sara and find out what all this is about. _

Mila texted Sara, “When this whole thing between Emil and Michele finally gets worked out I so want the story.”

Sara replied, “Is Emil okay?”

Mila said, “He is very drunk and very hurt.  I don’t think I have ever seen Emil this down before.  But he is safely stowed in his hotel room and I left him water and painkillers by the bed for in the morning.”

Sara replied, “I am glad he is at least safe for tonight.  I can deal with him and my brother tomorrow.  I definitely owe you dinner and the story once it all gets settled. See you tomorrow at the rink.”

Mila said, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”

******

Emil woke the next morning feeling terrible.  It took him a minute to orient himself.

_ Where am I and what happened last night?  _

He looked around the room.  

_ I am still at Skate Canada.  Why do I feel like I have been run over by a car?   _

He looked over at the nightstand and saw that some kind soul had left him water and a painkiller.  

_ Guess someone had to bring me home.  _

__ He took the painkiller and drank the water as the previous evening’s events began to come back to him.  

_ I went out to a club with Sara and Michele.  Holy Shit! I kissed Michele and he kissed me back!  But then he just left.  Things are kinda of fuzzy after that but I sort of remember Mila dragging me back to the hotel.  I need to apologize to her and thank her for taking care of me.  _

He heard his phone buzz and picked it up off the nightstand and noticed that he had missed half a dozen calls from Sara.  

_ Bet she is worried. I know Michele dragged her out of there. She would have never left me behind. I should call her back.  _

Emil dialed Sara’s number.

“Hello.” Sara answered.

“Sara?” Emil asked.

“Emil!  Thank God.  Are you okay.  I am so sorry that we abandoned you, yesterday.  I don’t know what my brother was thinking!” Sara said. 

“I am fine.  Thanks for sending Mila after me, though.  Tell her I owe her dinner or something.  I imagine I wasn’t easy to deal with last night.” Emil replied.

Sara didn’t like the way Emil sounded. He sounded flat, empty like he had given up. 

“I’ll tell her.  Are you really okay?” Sara asked.

“I just don’t know how much longer I can do this.  Every time I get my hopes up Michele dashes them.  His signals are so mixed. It’s confusing and hurtful.” Emil said. 

“Oh, Emil.  I know you have had a hard time.  But don’t give up.  I know he is into you.  He is just stupid and stubborn.  He also hasn’t been aware of it as long as you have.” Sara replied.  “He did kiss you back after all.  I have the video to prove it.”

“You videotaped that? But he also ran away after it.  Maybe he didn’t like it as much as you think.”  Emil replied.

“He has also been moping around our hotel room all morning because he thinks you hate him now either because he kissed you or he left you.  I don’t think he can decide which was the bigger sin.” Sara replied.  “He also has the two pictures of you two as his lock screen and background. He used to have a picture of me and him as both.  If that tells you anything.”

Emil smiled despite himself and said, “Okay, you win.  I won’t completely give up, yet.  But I can’t hold on much longer.  At some point I am going to have to accept he doesn’t want me,  _ just like Anton,  _ and move on.  Are you both coming to the exhibition skate?”

Sara replied, “Yes, we will be there, why?”

Emil said cryptically, “I think you will enjoy my routine.”

Sara said, “Okay?  Can’t wait to see it.”

Emil replied, “Please make sure Michele comes.  I need him to be there.”

Sara said, “Okay, I’ll make him go.  We will see you this afternoon.”

Emil replied, “Thanks. See you then.”

Sara said, “Bye.”

Emil deleted all of Sara’s voicemails and texts but then noticed there was a text that was not from Sara on his phone.  It was from Michele.

“I’m sorry.”

_ I can’t believe he actually texted me.  And what exactly is he sorry for? _

Emil left that text on his phone and he started getting ready for his exhibition skate.

***

Emil was in the dressing room getting ready for his exhibition skate.  He really never thought he would get to do this program especially with Michele watching! He pulled on a long sleeve royal blue shirt that matched his eyes.  The sleeves were flowy but the cuffs fit at the wrist. He wore plain black trousers to complete the outfit. The outfit looked stylish and a little romantic which was just what he wanted. It would move well on the ice. For his exhibition skate, Emil had picked an instrumental version of  _ Thousand Years. _  This program exemplified how Emil felt about Michele.  It was all in this program and the whole world would soon see it, even Michele.

After another annoying program from JJ and a exhibition skate from Yuri that would make a gymnast jealous, it was time for Emil to pour his heart out on the ice. The music started and Emil let his body portray exactly how much he loved Michele.  He had spotted Sara and Michele in the stands and every time he passed them he locked eyes with Michele.  He was telling Michele  _ this is for you  _ in his own way.  There weren’t any crazy jumps in this routine even though that is what Emil was known for. Instead, he had really worked on his footwork for this routine and on his expression.  It was easily the most expressive routine he had ever done.  He probably would never do another one like this. 

The announcer said, “What a lovely romantic piece. Quite a bit different than his theme of No Longer Human.  I wonder who he is skating this for.  I don’t think he has a girlfriend.”

The second announcer said, “Well there is some lucky girl out there because you don’t give a performance like that to a song like  _ Thousand Years _ without being in love with someone.  Wonder who she is.”

Sara whispered to Michele as she watched Emil’s performance, “You know, there is no girl.  Emil doesn’t swing that way. He is skating this for you.  When he talked to me this afternoon, he made sure that we would be here.  His skating is the most beautiful confession that I have ever seen.”

Michele blushed but couldn’t respond.  He was mesmerized by Emil’s performance.  It was some of the most beautiful skating he had ever seen.   _ Emil is so beautiful.  He looks so much softer in this outfit and routine compared to his others. I hope Sara is right.  And I hope I haven’t ruined things.  I hope this is for me, because I want everything it means.    
_

When Emil finished and skated off the ice, he looked straight at Michele and nodded as if to say, you saw, right?  That was for you. 

Michele blushed more, and nodded back.  Emil, satisfied with his performance, went to change back into his street clothes.  Emil went back to his hotel, alone.  He didn’t search out the twins. He wanted to give Michele some space and time to think.  He knew he would see them both at the Rostelecom Cup.  That would be soon enough to have his dreams crushed and until then he could hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The version of Thousand Years that Emil is skating to is the Piano Guys version which is a lovely piece even if it was spawned from the Twilight movies (not a huge fan of the Twilight Series). It's available on Itunes if you want to give it a listen. The Piano Guys are awesome. Look them up on Youtube. They make awesome videos too.
> 
> And you had to know I wasn't done with Emil and Michele yet. Michele hadn't nearly been tortured enough. Sorry.


	10. Waiting for an Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corresponds to Episode 8 in the series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep this as close to canon as possible. I even went back and watched episode 8 just to make sure I was including everything (not that it was a hardship or anything).

Michele was packing to go to Rostelecom Cup. He had all kinds of thoughts taking up space in his head.  None of which had anything to do with the skating he was going to have to do at the Rostelecom Cup.

 _Emil is skating at this one, too_ .   _His exhibition skate was some more question which I am going to have to answer when I see him.  Arrgh, this is so stressful.  I should be concentrating on skating but instead I am worried about Emil.  I don’t want to lose him as a friend, but am I attracted to him in that way?  I did kiss him, and it was great, but. . .can I. . .do I want to?  Plus Sara is on my case about us branching out and making new friends and not relying on each other so much.  What will I do if I lose them both?  What I am going to do?  What am I going to say? God, both of these situations are unbearable._

Michele was in a near panic over everything that had transpired in the last few months. Sara had finally forgiven him for abandoning Emil at the nightclub but she had begun to talk about how they would be better apart.  That they needed to make new friends and lead separate lives.  

_I wonder if she has found a boyfriend and that is where all this is coming from?  Wonder who he is and where she met him?_

He also hadn’t heard from Emil since Skate Canada.  

_I wonder if he is still mad or if he is just giving me space. That exhibition skate of his felt like a confession and an ultimatum.  I have to make a decision on whether to date Emil or not.  He decidedly has placed the ball on my court on that one and is waiting for my answer.  Either choice will drastically change my life and relationship with Emil.  I get the feeling if I decline to date him that he will still be friendly but will no longer be my friend.  Not that I blame him.  I don’t think I could be friends with someone I was in love with either. It would be too painful. Oh God, what if I lose them both?  I don’t think I could survive it._

Michele sighed as he placed the last article of clothing into his suitcase.  Everything was packed.  He had checked his list twice.  If only his life were as easy to organize. 

***

Emil was ready to go to the Rostelecom Cup.  His bags were packed and his tickets were on the kitchen table. He was a little apprehensive about the trip but not because of the competition.  For him and Michele this was it, either they would be dating by the end of the competition or they would probably no longer be friends.  It saddened Emil to think he could lose his friend that way.  

_But I am tired of pretending, I needed him to know.  I couldn’t go on the way things were.  I haven’t heard from Michele.  I wonder what he is thinking.  His silence, while not usual for Michele, makes me nervous.  Sara hasn’t said much about it either. What do I say when I see him?  What if his answer is no?  Can we still be friends with that hanging between us?  But what if he says yes?  That will change our relationship and we will have to figure out the logistics of long distance dating. What if he says yes?  I can’t even fathom it. But what if he says no?  It will probably break me. How do I recover from that?_

_****_

**Rostelecom Cup**

Emil spotted Sara and Michele from across the hotel lobby.  He (trying to hide his nervousness) walked energetically up to them and put an arm around each twin.  He wanted this contact, especially if Michele said no.  It might be the last time he got to touch Michele.  They got into the elevator to go up to their rooms.  

“How have you guys been?  Feels like it has been a long time since Skate Canada.” Emil finally said.

Michele answered (absentmindedly), “Good.  We have been busy getting ready for this competition.”

_Why is this so awkward?  We are friends.  I should be able to talk to Emil without falling apart.  I wonder how long he has felt this way about me?  How has he handled it?_

Sara replied, “Pretty good.  Like Michele said we have been working hard on our routines.  Sorry that I haven’t contacted you as much since Skate Canada.  I just thought you might want some space.”

Emil nodded and replied, “I understand. Well, this is my floor.  I look forward to watching you both skate tomorrow?”

Michele looked up, “You are not having dinner with us, tonight?”

Emil, surprised, replied, “I didn't know I was invited.”  

_Michele normally doesn’t seem to care if I hang out with them or not.  Has something changed?  And why is he inviting me to dinner?  It's usually Sara who does the inviting or cares if I eat with them or not._

Michele replied, “When have you ever waited on a formal invitation from us to have dinner?

_Normally, Emil would spend whatever time he could with us. Whether we wanted him or not.  I wonder what is up? Oh, I bet he is waiting on my answer.  God, what am I going to tell him?_

Emil chuckled, “You are right.  6 then?”

Michele replied, “Sounds good.”

Sara watched the entire exchange with a raised eyebrow.  

_Would they just get together already and spare the rest of us this stupid tension?  My brother is such an idiot.  I would kill for someone to look at me the way Emil looks at him._

_*****_

When Emil got onto the elevator, he felt a little underdressed in his jeans, white shirt and green jacket.  Sara and Michele always looked well-dressed and put together.

_Is Michele in a suit?  It fits him well.  God, Michele is a beautiful man.  How am I going to live if he says no.  And when exactly is he going to put me out of my misery and let me know?_

Emil didn’t see Michele subtlety checking him out.

_He looks great, even in casual clothes.  Does accepting Emil mean abandoning Sara?  How do I really feel about all of this? I am going to have to give him an answer soon. I wish he would dress better sometimes.  How good would he look in a suit.  It would be criminal. God, I would love to run my hands through his hair.  It's always so messy, but inviting.  Wait, what am I thinking._

Michele shook his head to dispel the thoughts.  He started to blush and to cover up his embarrassment especially with Sara watching, he went back to his old way of defending Sara.  “If you want to date Sara you are going to have to beat me first.”  

Emil thought _those words could have a different meaning now._

He smiled at the thought.

“Mickey,” Sara said, “it’s only dinner and you are the one that invited him this time!”

When the elevator reached the bottom floor and opened up they were in the middle of this exchange.  To an outside observer it looked like Michele was being possessive of Sara, again.  They spotted Seung-gil waiting for the elevator to take him to his room.

“Do you want to go to dinner with us?” Sara asked

“No.” He replied rudely.

“If you are turning a lady down, can’t you be more considerate?” Sara said.

“Do I have anything to gain by being nice to you?” Seung-gil replied.

Michele exploded.  Emil thought he was going to have to hold Michele back from pummeling Seung-gil. Emil spotted Yuuri who was standing behind Seung-gil.  It looked like he was trying to stay out of the drama.  Emil heard the other elevator open and watched Yuuri scurry to escape to that elevator.  Emil and Sara finally got Michele calmed down and moved towards the lobby and dinner.  Seung-gil entered the now empty elevator and went up to his room.

***

Dinner was nice.  Michele spent the time complaining about Yuuri and Seung-gil and how they better not lay a hand on his sister.  Sara spent her time teasing Michele. Emil just took it all in and saved it in his memory just in case. 

****

**The Next Day:  Short Programs**

They had decided at dinner the night before to walk over to the rink together.  Which meant the boys were in the changing room at the same time.  Emil was changing into his black poet’s shirt and adjusting the vest so that it fit properly.  He could feel Michele’s eyes on him.  

_Is he checking me out? Or is he trying to figure out how to let me down easy? This whole day is nerve-racking; first the skate and then all this stuff with Michele._

When he got his outfit adjusted to his satisfaction, he glanced over at Michele who was putting on an outfit that looked like armor? Emil hadn’t seen Michele’s routine.  He hadn’t been at a competition where Michele had skated this routine, and his TV chose the night Michele skated at his previous competition to not work.

They both began their warm-up routines and got ready to go on the ice.  Emil was skating second and Michele skated third.  They both followed Seung-gil and his mambo routine.

Emil was a little nervous watching Seung-gil’s routine.  

_He has gotten quite a bit better since I last saw him skate._

Emil stood there fussing with his hair in a nervous gesture while watching Seung-gil.

Emil commented, “That’s a hard act to follow.”

Michele replied, “I’ve never seen you nervous before.”

Emil said, “Let’s all do well and go to Barcelona together!”

He went out on the ice to perform his short program.  Michele watched Emil’s program.

Michele, feeling a little disgruntled, said, “He sure can jump, but his routine is a little lack luster.”

Sara replied, “You think so?  I like his routine.”

When Emil got finished he skated to the kiss and cry and said, “Mickey, you’ll one-up me now, right?”

Michele was startled for a moment when Emil used his nickname.  He had fussed for years at people when they called him Mickey.  Sara was the only one he let get away with it. But he found he actually liked it when Emil called him Mickey. It felt more intimate somehow.  Michele got ready to skate his program.  He got out onto the ice and he kissed his sister’s hand before starting the routine. All the while, Emil was trying to get their attention from the kiss and cry.  Michele ignored him for now and got in the mindset of his routine.  He had designed this routine as an expression of his protectiveness for his sister.  Now, he began to wonder if he was using his sister as an excuse to protect himself.  He had never let anyone in before and it was partially what made him hesitant to let Emil pass that wall.  

_I want to skate with Sara forever.  I will love her more than anyone else ever will.  My love will take a backseat to no man. She is my twin and we will be together forever. I have defeated all her suitors thus far.  But maybe I should give her more space.  I am afraid accepting Emil will mean losing Sara, but I am afraid rejecting him will mean the loss of both of them.  I have always not needed anyone but Sara, but that is starting to change._

Michele fell on his quadruple salchow but nailed his sister’s signature move, the triple lutz and triple loop combination.  Overall, he did well and he hugged Sara once he made it to the wall after his performance.

Sara thought as she hugged her brother _Mickey needs to find a place where he can win and live without me around.  I think that place could be with Emil.  If something doesn’t change, both of us will go down and we will lose Emil._

Michele was in second place after his performance but Yuuri, Yuri, and JJ were left to perform. At the end of the night, JJ was in first, Yuuri was second, Yuri was third, Seung-gil was fourth, Michele was fifth and poor Emil was in last place.  It was all up to the long program now.  Michele hoped he did well enough to make it to the Grand Prix final like he did last year.  He also hoped that Emil would make it but it wasn’t looking good for the Czech skater.  Emil didn’t seem phased or worried about it when they caught up with him after the programs.

Emil said, “Everyone is just so good.  Not everyone can go to the Grand Prix Final.  I just hope you make it, Michele.  I really liked your program tonight, I hadn’t seen it before.  If you could nail that salchow you could beat anyone.”

Michele blushed and replied, “Thank you.  I wish I could master jumps the way you do.”

Emil parted ways with the twins in the lobby of the hotel.  

Emil said softly to Michele as they parted ways, “Mickey, you need to tell me your decision tomorrow. It can wait until we have skated our programs and find out about the Grand Prix Final, but I can’t wait any longer than that.”

Michele replied, “I know.  And I will.  Goodnight.”

Emil nodded, “Goodnight, Mickey.”


	11. Serenade for Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Rostelecom Cup short programs. Mickey finally gives Emil an answer.

Since Emil was currently in last place, he was the first to skate.  

_ If I can come in first or second then I can still make the Grand Prix.  It is just my bad luck that JJ, Yuuri and Yuri are here.  _

Emil skated out to the center of the ice.  He had not seen Michele or Sara yet. Since he had come early, he got ready long before Michele made it to the rink.  

_ I wonder what his costume looks like for his long program.   _

“First up is Emil Nekola from the Czech Republic.” The announcer said as Anastasis started.  “His theme is Cyberpunk I am no longer human and he proves that theme by having 4 quads in his long program tonight.”

Michele and Sara were for once not watching Emil skate.  Sara knew she needed to do something drastic before her brother threw Emil away for her.  

“Mickey”, Sara said, “I want you to know that I am going to make it to the Grand Prix Final with or without you.  You need to learn to skate and live without me.”

“I don’t know that I can.” Michele replied.

“Look around you Mickey, I am not the only person in the world that cares about you.” Sara said.

“But you are the only one I care about.” Mickey replied.

“That’s not true and you know it.” Sara said.

“How can I keep skating if you go?  Please don’t leave me Sara.” Michele said.

“Learn to be strong, Mickey.  I am going to skate without you and I am going to start dating.  You should think about dating too.” Sara replied.

“You mean, like Emil.” Michele replied.

“Yes, I mean like Emil.  Do you know he has loved you for almost a year?  He started pining for you at the Grand Prix Final last year.  He crafted Anastasis because he needed to put the pain of loving you somewhere.” Sara said exasperated. 

“It’s my fault he has been in so much pain?” Michele said softly.  That thought hit him straight in the gut.  He hated the idea of Emil being in pain because of him.  

_ Does that means his falling is my fault too? _

“Yes.  And you need to decide whether you want him or you don’t.  You need to let him go if you don’t want him.  He needs to rebuild himself and get over you if you don’t want him.” Sara said. 

Michele nodded at his sister and then he started walking towards the rink.  He was the second to skate, and his turn would come soon.  He caught the end of Emil’s routine.  

_ I wonder who Sara is going to date?  That other guy from the Czech Republic?  What was his name, Anton.  Or maybe she likes guys like Yuuri.  She seemed excited to talk to him.  Does she like moody Japanese men who are closet pervs?  Or would she prefer a smiling Czech like Emil.  Hell, I don’t know. But I really don’t want her to have Emil.  I want him?  I want him.  I am going to tell him yes.  I don’t know if a relationship between us will work, especially with the distance, but I want to at least give it a try.  God, Emil isn’t human.  How is he still remaining strong after this whole year, and that program is murder.   _

He watched and groaned as Emil fell on a combination jump near the end of his routine.

Emil thought _ God, I am tired.  Both physically from this routine and emotionally from all this with Michele.  I just need to hold on.  Hold on. It’s almost over.  _

Emil finished his program.  He felt so tired.  He barely managed to make it to the kiss and cry to get his score.  It was a good score and he was proud of his skating.  He wouldn’t be going to the Grand Prix final this year but he would be able to go to other competitions later in the year.  

After getting his scores, he went to the back and watched Michele skate on the TV.  

_ I love that costume.  He looks gorgeous in that purple suit.  I would love to take that off of him.  Bad Emil.  Don’t think of stuff like that.  _

He watched as Michele skated onto the ice.  He noticed, like everyone else, that Sara was not rinkside to support Michele like normal.  

_ I wonder what is up with them.  She is normally next to the rink to support him.  God, he looks so sad.  Is it because he is fighting with Sara or because he feels bad because he is going to tell me no? _

Then Michele’s music started. The song was called  _ Serenade for Two _ .  Emil knew that Michele had designed that program out of love for his sister but he really wished someday Michele would  skate a love song for him.

***

Michele started his program.   _ This is so difficult without Sara’s support.  And even though she is not rinkside supporting me, I can still feel her eyes watching me.  Right now I have no one if my sister has abandoned me. But I could have Emil.  If I reach out for him, he would always be there.  He would never abandon me the way Sara has.  _

Sara was sitting up in the stands next to Mila instead of waiting rinkside like normal.  

Mila said, “Aren’t you usually in the kiss and cry?”

Sara replied, “Yes, but I am trying to make him stand on his own or at least lean on someone else.”

Mila said, “You mean Emil.”

Sara nodded, “My brother looks so sad and his skating is a lot more mellow than normal.”

Mila replied, “I wonder why.”

Georgi, who was sitting on the other side of Mila, said “Can’t you see?  It’s obvious.  It’s love.  Lost love is what had made him change.”

Sara started crying.   _ What have I done to my brother?  I hope this turns out alright. _

Michele started to get into his program.  This was the best this routine had ever felt for him.

_ What do I do with my emotions?  I guess I can skate them.  Sara, what has changed?  We have always been together.  Inseparable, like twins should be.   My lady why have you abandoned me? I’ve been an idiot.  I know I need to let you go, and I need to let Emil in.  This is the last time I skate for you.  Next time I will skate for Emil.  It’s over Sara.  I have to show my love for you by letting you go.  Goodbye, Sara.   _

Michele finished his program.  It was the best he had ever skated it.

Emil had been watching from the warm up area.  He exclaimed, “Michele, that was perfect.” 

Then he turned away before the other skaters could see the tears in his eyes. He was afraid that Michele was telling him goodbye as well.

Michele went to the kiss and cry.  How lonely it was to be alone there.  He knew next time Emil would be there for him.  He looked up to see Sara running towards him. 

Sara hugged him as she said, “Mickey, I am sorry for saying such mean things to you.  That was the best program I have ever seen you skate.  I am so proud of you.  But now you can see that we are better off apart. Oh, Seung-gil is starting his program.  See you later.”

She ran off like the force of nature she was and Michele was let feeling like he had weathered some kind of weird storm.  He went to the warm-up area to watch the rest of the skaters on the TV.  He knew Emil would be back there and he wanted to be near him.  Seung-gil’s performance was almost finished by the time he made it to the back. He saw the Korean skater fall and knew the Korean’s chances were over for the Grand Prix Final. However,  they would see him at other competitions. The Russian Yuri was next to perform.  He put four of his jumps in the second half of his routine.  He skating was fantastic but it looked like that program had nearly killed the boy.  His score put him ahead of Michele.  Michele was currently in second place. Next came the Japanese Yuuri.  Sara had told him that Victor, Yuuri’s coach, had gone back to Japan to see about his dog who was sick.  She had overheard them arguing about Victor leaving after the short programs.  Yuuri didn’t look good and he didn’t skate his program as well as he could have. If Victor had been there, he skating would have been phenomenal.  Yuuri’s scores put him in third behind Michele. Only JJ was left to skate.  JJ, of course, skated perfectly putting him in first place.  That meant Michele had come in third.  He had medaled.  Michele was excited.  He added up the points in his mind.  He was tied with the Japanese Yuuri.  

_ Which one of us gets to go to the Grand Prix?  Wait, Yuuri came in second at the Cup of China didn’t he?  That means he gets to go to the Grand Prix Final and I don’t. That’s disappointing.  I will just have to work harder next year.  _

After the medal ceremony, he and Sara were walking back to the dressing rooms. 

Michele said, “Man, I am exhausted.”

Sara replied, “You should get some rest then, maybe hang out with Emil?  You don’t have to worry about coming to the women’s free skate tomorrow.  I will be fine.”

Michele said, “I can’t come cheer you on?”

Sara replied, “If I know you, you will come straight to the kiss and cry.  Besides, shouldn’t you spend some time with Emil instead?  You are going to tell him yes, right?”

Michele blushed and said, “Yes.”

Sara replied, “Good.  It’s about time you both got over yourselves and got together.”

Michele said, “Sara!”

Sara spotted Yuuri in the hallway.

Sara walked towards him and said, “Hey, Yuuri.  Congrats on qualifying!  I knew you would make it to the finals.” 

Michele said, “Sara?”

Yuuri hugged Sara and said, “Thank you.”

Michele yelled, “What do you think you are doing?”

Yuuri let go of Sara and hugged Michele.  Michele screamed.  Emil, who had been waiting for Michele near the dressing rooms, leaned into the hallway.

He asks, “Was that Mickey screaming?  Are you okay?”

Yuuri hugged Emil.  Emil hugged Yuuri back. 

Emil said, “Are we having a hugging competition now?”

Michele growled low in his throat.  

_ I don’t want anyone hugging Emil but me.  _

Michele was collapsed on the floor, tired from the day and stunned from being hugged by Yuuri.  He noticed that Emil was there offering him a hand up.  He took it and let the Czech boy help up to his feet.  He leaned on Emil unable to take everything all in.  As Michele leaned into Emil, Emil felt the heat of Michele’s body burn along his side.  Emil’s heart sped up from being so close to him.  They watched as Yuuri hugged JJ and then went wandering down the hall.

Michele asked, trying to break the tension between him and Emil, “What’s wrong with Yuuri?”

Emil replied, “He just misses Victor, I bet.  I think there is more to that relationship then just coach and skater.” 

Michele said, “Hmm.”

Emil hugged Michele closer to his side supporting more of the boy’s weight. Emil shivered from the close contact, and his mind was wandering to places it really shouldn’t.  They stood in silence for a moment.  Then Emil took a deep breath, and looked down at Michele. 

Emil said, “So.”

Michele looked up at Emil with a twinkle in his eye and replied, “So?”

Emil lost it and said, “God Damn it, Mickey!  You are killing me. I can’t stand it any longer.  Just tell me your answer already. My emotions need to know which way to swing.  I need to know whether I am spending tonight celebrating or drowning my sorrows.”

Michele chuckled and replied, “Yes,”

Emil, caught in Mickey’s beautiful eyes, repeated, “Yes? As in Yes, yes?”

Emil was was completely stunned.  

Emil thought  _ Oh My God, he said yes.  I am going to get to date Michele.  If I am losing my mind, I welcome the insanity. _

Michele stood up and moved in front of Emil.  He put his hands on either side of Emil’s face and looked into those blue eyes.

_ Here I go, time to jump.  Eh, he is so cute when he loses his shit.  _

Michele smiled, “As in yes, let’s try this.  Let’s see if we can manage to be less miserable together than we have been apart.”

Michele then pulled Emil down for a kiss.  Both of their lips were chapped from the cold of the rink but neither seemed to mind.  The kiss was soft and hesitant like a new promise. When their lips parted, Emil let out a whoop that attracted the attention of JJ and Sara away from Yuuri, who was chasing the other Yuri down the hall trying to catch him in a hug.  They turned just in time to see Emil kiss Michele back. Forgetting they had an audience, Emil swiped his tongue along Michele’s lips, trying to get the older boy to open his mouth and allow him entrance. Michele complied and Emil slid his tongue into Michele’s mouth.  Emil groaned as his tongue slid against Michele’s.      

Sara, blushing at the intimate sight, said, “Well, it’s about freakin’ time.  They were killing me with all the unresolved tension.”

JJ raised an eyebrow and then he just shrugged his shoulders and went about the business of getting ready to leave the rink.  He didn’t really care what the other skaters got up to as long as he beat them in the rink, and they didn’t hit on Isabella.  He needed to get back to the hotel and call Isabella to tell her about his win.  JJ smiled at the thought of his girlfriend.

Sara had to skate her long program the next day so she decided to go back to the hotel on her own.  She figured her company was not needed nor wanted by either boy at the moment.  She also wanted to go to bed early and she had a feeling those two would be up late tonight.  She sent a text to Mickey telling him where she had gone so that he wouldn’t freak out later when he remembered her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter you all have been waiting for, but wait the story is not done yet. We still have a few more chapters to go.


	12. Spending the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil and Michele go to Emil's hotel room to talk.

When the boys finally broke apart and looked up, the hallways were clear.  Most everyone had already left.

Emil chuckled and said, “I guess we had better grab our gear and head back to the hotel.”

Michele, a little dazed, replied, “Hmm.”

Emil reached out for Mickey’s hand.  Mickey gladly took Emil’s hand and laced their fingers together.  It was almost as if both boys thought this was dream that would dissipate if they lost contact with each other. They started walking back to the dressing rooms.    

Michele said, “ You hungry?  Do you want to grab some food and talk after we get changed?”

Emil replied, “Absolutely.”

Michele asked, “Shower here or the hotel?”

Emil replied, “Here? Real quick?”

Michele nodded.

Emil pushed open the door to the men’s locker room. They finally had to let go of each other to go to their lockers.  

As Michele was grabbing his spare clothes and toiletries, he asked, “Are you staying until after the exhibition skates.”

Emil replied, “Yep, my plane leaves the day after.”

Michele said, “Good. That gives us a couple of days.  Plus, I really wanted you to see my exhibition skate.”

Emil turned to look at Michele and replied, “Oh, yeah.  Congrats on your medal.  Sorry, you didn’t make it to the Grand Prix Final, though.  You were so close.”

Michele sighed and said, “I know.”  

Michele looked sad for a moment but then smiled and said, “We’ll both just have to work harder next year so we can go together.”

Emil nodded and asked, “If Sara makes it, are you going to Barcelona?”

Michele replied, “I am sure I will. Will you come and cheer her on too?” 

Emil replied, “Of course,  I wouldn’t miss the chance to spend a few days with you, especially in a city as beautiful as Barcelona.”

Michele blushed at Emil’s response.   Being with Emil was going to take some getting used to.  The boy wore his heart out on his sleeve for everyone to see but Michele tended to be more guarded than that.  Emil walked past Michele to the showers and noticed that the boy was blushing. He walked close enough to Michele that their shoulders brushed which made Michele blush harder.  

_ How cute.   _

Michele ducked his head, grabbed his own stuff, and headed to the showers as well.  Both boys took the quickest shower ever and then quickly dressed.  Michele sat on the bench in the locker room to dry his hair.  He was so tired that he nearly fell asleep on the bench.  Emil threw his stuff back in his bag.

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Michele yawned and then replied, “Yes.”

“Tired? Or is it the company?” Emil laughingly asked.

“Not the company!” Michele replied quickly. “I am just exhausted.” 

“Do you want to go back to the hotel and order room service instead of trying to go out to eat?” Emil asked.

“That sounds perfect.” Michele replied.     

Emil grabbed Michele’s hand and pulled him up off the bench.  He also grabbed Michele’s gear for him.  They exited the arena with Emil carrying both of their bags. They caught a taxi and went back to the hotel.  While riding in the taxi, Michele finally remembered his sister.  He looked at his phone to see if she had left him a message.  He saw the text she sent. 

When they got to the hotel, Michele asked, “Your room?”

Emil nodded as they got on the elevator.  He hit the elevator button for his floor.  The elevator seemed to take forever but finally they were on Emil’s floor and standing in front of Emil’s room. 

Emil fumbled with his key, suddenly nervous at the idea of being alone with Mickey in his hotel room. He finally got the door open.  He dropped their gear by the door, and took his shoes off, leaving them by the door. Michele followed Emil into the room and also took off his shoes and left them by the door.  Michele sat down on the recliner that was in the room.  

Emil asked, “What do want to eat?”

Michele replied,”Do they have some kind of salad on the menu?  I want to eat light since it is so late.”

Emil replied,”Yes they do, will a cobb salad be okay?”

Michele said, “That will be fine.”

Emil sat down on the bed and reached over to the phone on the nightstand.  He called down to room service and ordered their salads.  Then he leaned against the headboard of the bed with his long legs stretched out in front of him, and waited for their food to arrive.  The boys sat in silence for a bit each absorbing what had happened that day.  It had been a busy and emotional day for both of them.

Finally, Michele broke the silence, “How long?”

Emil, lost in his own thoughts, replied, “Hmm?”

Michele said, “How long have you felt this way about me?”

Emil blushed and replied, “Since Sochi.”

Michele asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Emil looked over at Michele and replied, “I didn’t think you swung that way.  I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.  Being friends with you was better than nothing in my opinion.” 

Michele nodded.  He completely understood. 

_ I wouldn’t have been ready had he told me last year, and we wouldn’t have had a chance at this.  I am glad he waited but sorry he suffered so much. _

Michele replied, “I am sorry.” 

“For what?” Emil asked.

“For all the pain you went through because of me.” Michele replied softly.

“It’s not your fault.” Emil said.

“But I still feel bad.” Michele replied.

“Well, don’t.  We shouldn’t dwell on the past.  We should enjoy what we have now.” Emil said.

“I know.  You are right.” Michele replied.  

_ But I still feel sad.  _

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.  

“Room service.” a voice said through the door.

“It’s our food.”  Emil said as he got up to open the door. 

Emil brought in a tray with 2 salads and two bottles of water.  He gave Michele his salad and water.   Emil sat down on the side of the bed and put his water on the nightstand.  They ate in silence. When they were done eating, Emil took the bowls and the tray and left them outside his room.  As he walked back in the room, he looked over at Michele whose brow was furrowed as if he were thinking too hard or panicking.

Michele was thinking  _ The logistics of this is going to be a nightmare. And I’ve never been in a relationship before.  I don’t know how to do this. But it’s not a terrible distance between Italy and the Czech Republic but it’s not nearly close enough.  Maybe I can move there or perhaps I can get Emil to move to Italy.  And I have never been intimate with anyone before nevermind a guy.  This is beginning to get more complicated that I could have imagined.  _

Emil returned to his original position stretched out on the bed. 

Emil thought  _ This is still so fragile.  If either of us breathes wrong it will shatter.  I’ve got to calm him down. _

“Michele,” Emil said, “Come here.”  Emil patted a space on the bed next to him.

Michele got up off the recliner and stretched out next to Emil. Emil turned his head to look at Michele. 

“Stop thinking so hard.” Emil said.

He put his hand on Michele’s chin and turned and lifted his face.  Emil’s blue eyes met Michele’s violet ones.  Emil slowly dipped his head down and caught Michele’s lips in a soft kiss.

“Michele, do you like me?” Emil asked and he pulled back from Michele. 

Emil let go of his chin and Michele nodded in response to Emil’s question. 

“Do you want this?” Emil asked. 

Michele nodded again.

“Then don’t worry so much.  We can work the details out.” Emil said. “Now, lay down.  I know you are tired.  We can worry about everything else tomorrow.”

Michele slid down the bed until his head hit one of the pillows.  He lay on his back looking at the ceiling.   

_ This feels so good.  I am so tired. I want to spend more time with Emil but. . . _

Emil also slid down the bed.  He lay on his side looking at Michele.  

Emil asked, “Can I hold you?”

Michele croaked out, “Yes?” 

Michele turned so that he was also lying on his side facing Emil. Emil put his arms around Michele. He pulled the smaller man against his chest. Emil took a deep breath and breathed in Michele.  He smelled the shampoo Michele had used when he showered and underneath was the scent that was uniquely Michele.  Emil loved it. He could feel the line of Michele’s body warm against his. He kissed the top of Michele’s head.  And then Michele put his head on Emil’s shoulder. 

Emil thought  _ God, I have waited so long to be able to do this.  I could lie like this for eternity.  _

Emil smiled as he listened to Michele’s breathing.  An easy silence had fallen between them. They were content just to lie there with each other.  Emil noticed that Michele’s breathing had evened out indicating that the boy had fallen asleep.  Emil smiled.  He was glad Michele was comfortable enough with him to sleep.  Emil laid awake awhile listening to Michele breathe and enjoying the closeness of the moment, then he also slipped into sleep.  It had been a long day for both of them. 

******

Michele woke slowly.  

_ Where am I?  This is not my hotel room.  _

He became aware of the arm thrown across his chest and the leg that had his trapped beneath.  

_ Holy Shit!  What happened last night.  Did I go to bed with someone? I am almost afraid to look. _

Michele slowly turned his head trying not to wake the unknown person. He was greeted with Emil’s sleeping face. 

_ Oh, yeah.  Now I remember.  I feel asleep with Emil holding me last night and he must have fallen asleep too, since we both still have our street clothes on.  He is so cute when he sleeps.  He is sprawled all over the bed.  It should be annoying, but it’s just cute.  You can really tell how young he is when he is sleeping.   _

He smiled as he watched Emil sleep.  He was in no hurry to wake up Emil.  They had no timetable or plans.  He could indulge in a moment like this one.  After a bit he just couldn’t help himself, he reached out and ran his fingers through Emil’s soft brown hair. It was startling to him that he was able to touch Emil like this.  

_ I always thought Emil was in love with my sister.  I didn’t think I would ever get this chance.   _

The touch caused Emil to stir into awakeness. His blue eyes fluttered open and they met the violet eyes that had been watching him. 

Emil smiled and thought  _ I could get used to this.  _

Emil cleared his throat and said, “Good Morning.”

“Morning.” Michele replied. 

Neither boy made any effort to get up.  Michele snuggled closer to Emil. 

Emil asked, “What did you want to do today?”

Michele, muffled, replied, “Sara doesn’t want me to come to her competition today.  So, maybe we could do some sightseeing?”

Emil asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to Sara’s competition?”

Michele replied, “I am sure. I’d rather spend the day sightseeing with you.”

Emil blushed and said, “Okay.”

Michele sighed and said, “Should we get up and get going then?”

Emil replied, “Hmm, if we have too.”

Michele said, “Don’t tempt me.”

Emil laughed.  He let go of Michele, and pushed himself up and off the bed. He reached out a hand toward Michele, who took it.  Emil pulled Michele up off the bed but he pulled a little too hard resulting in Michele colliding against his chest.  Emil put his arms around Michele to stabilize them both so they wouldn’t fall.  He also took the opportunity to steal a good morning kiss from Michele. 

Michele blushed and said, “I need to go back to my room and get some clean clothes.”

Emil let go of Michele and replied, “Okay.  Do you want to come back here after or meet me downstairs?”

Michele said, “I can come back here.”

Michele put on his shoes and grabbed his gear bag from where Emil had slung it the night before. He blushed as he walked down the hall to the elevator.  

_ If anyone sees me, then they will know I didn’t spend last night in my room. Oh God, I hope no one sees me.  Please God don’t let me run into anyone I know. I wonder if Sara is still in our room.  She is gonna give me Hell. _

He got to his floor and room with no problems.  He didn’t run into any of the other skaters.  However, Sara was still in their room when he let himself in. 

Sara commented,”You didn’t come back to the room last night.”

Michele replied,”I feel asleep at Emil’s.”

Sara raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment further.

Michele blushed and blurted out, “Nothing happened! We just talked.”

Sara replied, enjoying her brother’s embarrassment, “Uh, huh.”

Michele blushed again, “I am going to go take a shower.”

He grabbed some clothes out of his suitcase and headed into the bathroom.  Sara watched as her flustered brother moved around the hotel room trying to get himself together. After he went into the bathroom, Sara giggled. 

_ Perhaps there is hope for him yet.  _


	13. It Started on the Dancefloor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele and Emil go sightseeing in Moscow. They celebrate Michele's and Sara's win by going out. Then Michele goes back to Emil's hotel room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I didn't get a chapter up last week. I was gone to a professional conference last week. To compensate, this week's chapter is longer than normal. Warning: There is smut in this chapter. Enjoy.

Once Michele finished getting cleaned up and dressed, he walked back into the main part of the hotel room where Sara was still sitting.  

As he put his shoes back on he said, “I am going sightseeing with Emil today.  Good luck at the competition.”

Sara looked surprised.  

_I know I told him not to come today, but I never thought he actually wouldn’t come.  I don’t know how I feel about it.  I’ve never skated without my brother.  I am glad that his thing with Emil seems to be working out, but I guess I feel left behind._

Sara, trying to hide her feelings, replied, “Okay.  Hopefully we can celebrate my win tonight.  Have fun with Emil.”

Her voice gave her away to her brother.  He looked up at Sara.  

“Do you want us to come to the competition?  Emil said he would come with me.” Michele asked.

Sara swallowed hard, “No, no.  You go have fun with Emil.  I’ll be okay.”

Michele replied, “If you are sure.”

Sara nodded. Michele stood up and motioned for Sara to stand as well.  He gave Sara a hug.

Michele said, “You know that I am always here for you.  No matter what happens, right?”

Sara nodded again.

Michele said, “Good.”

He kissed Sara on the top of her head then he checked to see if he has his room key and wallet.  Michele grabbed his coat and headed back to Emil’s room. It was only when he was back on Emil’s floor that he began to get nervous.  

 _What if everything goes wrong today? What if I can’t be_ **_that_ ** _way with him? I don’t want Emil to be disappointed in me._

Michele shook his head.

 _We have gone out together multiple times.  We have always had fun.  Like that time in Prague.  But now we are_ **_together._ ** _But that shouldn’t make any difference._

Michele was standing in front of Emil’s room. He hesitated for just a moment then he knocked. Emil almost instantly opened the door, as if he had been waiting for Michele’s knock. Emil smiled when he saw Michele.

Michele asked, “Ready to go?”

Emil replied, “Yep, breakfast?”

Michele said, “Sounds good. Is the hotel restaurant okay?”

Emil replied, “Fine with me.”

They went downstairs and grabbed a table in the restaurant.  There were not many people in the restaurant because they were in-between the breakfast and lunch rush.  While they were eating, Emil pulled out a guidebook of Moscow.

“What did you want to do today?” Emil asked.

Michele replied, “I don’t know.  I’ve never been to Moscow before.  Whatever you want to do is fine.”

Emil looked at the tour guide book thoughtfully.  

“How about we go to the Oceanarium? And then maybe Red Square?” asked Emil.

Michele replied, “Sounds fine to me.  I like aquariums and we should see the historic Red Square.”

With that settled, they finished up their breakfast and took a cab out to the Oceanarium.  Emil enjoyed watching Michele enjoying the aquarium.  He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Michele swivel his head around to look at all the fish in the viewing tunnel.   The turtle in one of the viewing rooms had been very cool as well. Evidently, Michele was a fan of penguins, because they spent a long time watching the penguins play around in their exhibit. Emil knew that Michele was easily embarrassed.  Therefore, he refrained from acting like a couple once they were out of their hotel.  He didn’t initiate any contact that could be construed to be anything other than two friends hanging out for the afternoon.  That was until they found themselves in a rather dimly lit area of the aquarium.  Emil covertly looked around and saw that no one else was in the exhibit.  He turned to Michele and grabbed Michele’s arm, pulling him into an embrace.

Michele, surprised, said, “Wha. . .?”  As Emil captured his mouth in a soft yet insistent kiss.  

The kiss lasted but for a moment and then Emil released Michele.

Michele was breathing heavily, “Why did you do that for?”

Emil replied, “Because I can?”

Michele, a little mad, asked, “What if someone had seen us?”

Emil’s signature smile disappeared as he replied, “No one is here to see us, I checked first.”

Michele just sighed.   _I am not mad he kissed me.  It was just how he did it.  Oh, I don’t want him frowning._

Emil said, “I am sorry.  Don’t be mad. It’s just really hard for me not to touch you now that I can.”

Michele smiled.  He looked around and saw that they were still alone.  He reached up to Emil and put his hands on either side of Emil’s face and brought their lips together for a sweet kiss. Once they separated, Michele said, “It is hard, isn’t it.  I am not mad.  You just surprised me.”

Emil’s smile returned and they continued through the aquarium.  They ate a late lunch at a quaint little restaurant near the aquarium.  Then they went to Red Square and took in all the artitecture.  It was getting dark by the time they got done in the square.  They had found someone to take their picture in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral so they had another picture to add to their collection.  

Michele said, “We should go back to the hotel and see how Sara did today.”

Emil nodded and replied, “I am sure she medaled.  We should go out and celebrate your win, and hers, tonight.”

Michele said, “I think Sara would probably like that.”

They made their way back to the hotel.  Michele and Emil knocked on Michele’s hotel room door.  They didn’t want to surprise Sara.  Sara opened the door and let the boys in.

Sara asked, “Why didn’t you just use your key, Mickey?”

Emil said,”We didn’t want to just barge in and surprise you.”

Michele asked, “How did it go today?”

Sara replied smiling, “I came in first.”

She showed off her gold medal.

Emil said, “That means you qualify for the Grand Prix Final!”

Michele said, “Let’s go out and celebrate.  What would you like to do, Sara?”

Sara replied, “Dinner and maybe go to this club that I heard about?”

Michele said,”That sounds good.”

Emil said, “Let me go change.  I am not dressed for going out.  Meet you both in an hour?”

Michele replied reluctantly, “Okay.  See you for dinner in an hour.”

Emil chuckled as he left the hotel room.  He was glad that Mickey was as reluctant to be parted from him as he was from Mickey.

****

They met Emil downstairs in the lobby at 6.  

Michele thought _Dear God, he is wearing_ _the pants.  Those awful, sinful pants he wore to the club in Canada. Damn, they hug him in all the right places.  I love him in those pants but I don’t want anyone else looking at him._

Emil was wearing the very tight pants he had worn in Canada.  He knew he looked good in them.  This time he had paired the black pants with a black collared shirt instead of blue. It gave him more of a sexy, less boyish, look.  He finished off the look with black dress shoes and no socks.  Sara was wearing the violet dress she had worn to the club in Canada.   Michele was wearing black slacks and the violet collared shirt he had worn in Canada.  Michele’s eyes traced Emil’s figure up and down.  

 _It is going to be a very long evening._  Michele thought.

Michele swallowed hard and then cleared his throat.

He said as he blushed, “You look good, Emil.”

Emil replied, “Thank you, Mickey. You are not so bad yourself.”

Michele’s heart stuttered at the use of his nickname.  Emil put his arms around the twins and started walking with them out of the hotel and towards their dinner destination just like he normally would.  However, while his arm was around Sara’s shoulders, the arm he had around Michele had dropped lower to around his waist.  Michele blushed at the intimate contact but choose not to chastise Emil about it. After dinner, they went to the club that Sara had heard about from one of the other skaters.  They found a table and once again Emil went off to get them drinks. This time Michele’s eyes followed Emil as he wove through the crowd to the bar.  

Michele heard Sara’s voice and knew she must be saying something to him, but all his attention was on Emil’s fine ass as he moved through the crowd.

Michele said, “Huh?”

Sara laughed and replied, “I said, you are gone on him, huh?”

Michele blushed and said, “Yes, I guess I am.”

Sara replied, “I am glad you two are finally working things out.  You both were about to drive me crazy with all the tension between you.”

Michele just nodded.  He attention was again taken up by Emil as the boy worked his way back to the table.  Just as he was nearly back some girl intercepted him.  Michele watched as Emil shook his head at the girl and went to move around her.  She blocked his path and became more insistent.  Michele growled as he got up from the table.

Sara looked shocked, “Mickey. . .?”

She looked over to see the situation with Emil.

Sara laughed and said, “Well, go save your boy already.”

Michele walked over to Emil and kissed him on the cheek.

Michele purred, “Thank you, love.” As he took his glass of wine from Emil.

Emil’s eyes got big.  He had never seen Michele act that way before.  The girl that had been bothering him got the message.  She huffed and moved on to her next target.  Michele and Emil walked back to the table.

Emil asked, “What was that?”

Michele replied innocently, “What?”

Emil raised his eyebrows and said, “You know what.”

Sara started laughing.  Both boys looked at her in askance.  

Sara caught her breath and said, “You both are so cute that I can hardly stand it.”

Michele said,”I was just protecting what’s mine.”

Emil replied, “Really?”

Michele said, “Really.”

Emil ask, “And you think I need protection--from a girl?”

Michele replied, “From that one you did.  She was a predator.”

Emil smiled.   _I like being on the receiving end of Mickey’s protective nature.  Not that I am going to tell him that.  He would become insufferable._

After they finished their first round of drinks, Emil dragged the twins to the dance floor.  This time Michele and Emil did not give anyone a chance to come between them.  There would be no one this time to distract Emil from Michele.  As the beat started, Emil reached out and took Michele by the hips and brought him in close.  He left his hands on Michele’s waist as they moved to the beat together.  

Emil looked down at the older man and wondered _How did I get so lucky.  This feels like a dream.  I am afraid I am going wake up and go back to reality. How am I ever going to make it being this close to him, all night?_

They danced for a couple of songs and then took a break.  They got another drink and then danced with Sara.  They were there to celebrate her win after all. After a couple of more songs and a couple more drinks,  Emil heard a latin pop song start.  

Emil said, “Come on, Mickey.  This is one of my favorites.”

Emil went out to the dance floor and crooked a finger at Mickey in a come here gesture. He had a look in his eyes that Mickey had never seen before.  It was heated. Mickey decided to play along, excited by where this might lead.  Mickey stalked across the dance floor coming to a stop in front of Emil.  Emil grabbed Mickey by the waist and pulled him in close.  Mickey clasped his hands behind Emil’s back to anchor himself. Then they were “dancing.”

Sara, who had watched the whole interaction, said, “Damn, boys.”

Emil turned Mickey around and left one hand around Mickey’s waist.  Mickey had one hand over Emil’s at his waist and one hand on Emil’s leg for stability.  Their dancing had turned to grinding and neither boy was going to be able to keep from embarrassing themselves if they didn’t leave soon. Mickey leaned his back against Emil’s chest, creating contact between them all along their bodies. Mickey’s body was hot and it wasn’t from the dancing. Mickey could feel how his body was affecting Emil.

Mickey thought _I feel like I am going to combust.  I wonder if Emil regrets those pants right about now?  They are so tight.  I bet he’s uncomfortable. But they sure do look good on him._

Michele turned around and grabbed Emil’s head with both of his hands.  He kissed Emil like he was trying to crawl inside his skin.  Emil groaned at the contact.

Mickey stepped back from Emil.  Both boys were panting, trying to catch their breath.  

Michele asked, “Time to go?”

Emil replied, “Only if you are coming back to my room.”

Michele choked and then said, “Let’s get Sara and go.”

Michele looked around the club for his sister.  He spotted her dancing with a guy she had met earlier in the evening. When the song ended, Michele approached Sara.

Michele said with pleading eyes, “Are you ready to go?”

Sara, teasing her brother, “I don’t know.  I am having such a good time.”

Michele said, nearly begging, “Sara, please.”

Sara laughed, “Okay, okay.  Let’s go.”

Emil had gone to pay their bill while Michele fetched Sara.  They left the club and walked back to the hotel.  Emil was twitchy all the way back to the hotel. He felt like his skin was too small.  Like he was going to crawl out of himself with the slightest stimulation.  All his senses were in overdrive and concentrated on Michele.  He had his hands crammed in his pockets because he didn’t trust himself not to touch Michele.  

Emil thought _I am going die If I can’t touch him soon. I have_ _never felt this aroused before._

The boys were quiet all the way back to the hotel.  While Emil was trying to control himself, Michele was worrying about what was going to happen after they dropped Sara off at her hotel room.

Michele thought, _God knows I want Emil but I have never done this before.  Damn, he is sexy. But what if I am bad at it?  And Emil leaves me because of it? I know he has some experience._ Walking into the hotel behind Emil, Michele ‘s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to Emil’s ass.

_God Damn, he is hot in those pants._

Michele curbed the urge to run his hands over Emil’s ass. They all three got into the elevator. The tension in the elevator was so thick it was a tangible thing. The ride seemed to take forever, but finally they arrived at Michele’s and Sara’s floor.  They got off the elevator.  

Michele said, “I am going to walk Sara to the room and grab a few things.  I’ll be right back.”

Emil growled, “Hurry.”

Michele walked Sara to their room. Emil stayed by the elevator.  When the twins got their room, Michele threw some stuff into a bag.  He didn’t figure he was coming back to their room tonight. He went into the bathroom to grab his toiletries.  

Sara asked, “Where you going, Mickey?”

Michele growled, “You know Damn well where I am going.”

Sara replied with a lilt to her voice, “Oh, back to Emil’s?”

Michele replied, “Sara, please stop.  You are not making this any easier.”

Sara sat down on the bed and began to giggle.  

When she finally caught her breath, she said, “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

Michele just gave her a look.

Sara said, “Go.  Have fun with Emil.  I will see you tomorrow. Don’t forget we have to do our exhibition skates tomorrow.”

Michele replied, “I won’t.”

Michele got his things and hurried out of the room before Sara tried to delayed him further.   Michele hurried down the hall back towards the elevator where Emil was waiting.  Emil saw Michele coming and hit the elevator button.  The elevator opened just as Michele reached him. Emil got onto the elevator and grabbed Michele’s wrist, pulling him in.  The movement caused Michele to be off balance. It allowed Emil to press Michele against the wall of the elevator as the doors closed and kiss him, hard. Michele could feel the hard line of Emil’s body pressed against him. Emil ground his hips against Michele which let Michele feel just how ready Emil was for this. Michele groaned. The elevator came to a stop at Emil’s floor. Emil and Michele parted as the doors of the elevator opened, both of them gasping for breath. It was a good thing there was no one in the hallway.  Emil grabbed Michele’s wrist and pulled him down the hall. When they got to Emil’s room, Emil reached for his room key and found himself pressed up against his door by an eager Michele.  He found himself lost in Michele’s kiss for a moment.  He could feel Michele’s arousal against his thigh.  He pushed Michele backwards.

Gasping, Emil said, “Uh, let’s get inside first.”

Michele replied, “Hurry.”

Emil opened the door to his hotel room. Michele followed Emil into the room shutting the door behind him.  Michele threw his bag by the door.  

Emil stood back from Michele. Emil began, “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Mickey.  I want you to be comfortable with . . .”

Mickey interrupted Emil’s speech by pressing him against the wall by the door. He spread his hands on Emil’s torso and stretched upwards to claim Emil’s lips in a possessive kiss.

He growled into Emil’s ear, “I want you.  All of you.”

Emil moaned at Michele’s words. Mickey needed to touch Emil.  He pulled Emil’s shirt out of his pants and slipped his hands underneath.  As he worked his way up Emil’s torso, he could feel Emil’s rapid heartbeat underneath his hand. Michele’s heart seem to have found a matching rhythm.  Emil dipped down and Michele groaned into the kiss as he felt Emil’s tongue slip into his mouth. Michele gasped as he felt Emil’s lick along his own.  Emil slipped his hands into Michele’s soft hair to anchor himself as he felt Mickey’s hands moving up his chest.  When Mickey’s fingers brushed against his nipples it caused Emil to moan in a way that went straight to Michele’s cock.  

Emil pulled back from the kiss.  At this rate, he wasn’t going to last long.  They needed to get to the bed before his legs gave out.  As it was, he didn’t know how either of them were still standing.

Emil gasp out, “Bed. . .now!”

Emil turned Mickey around, pushed him towards the bed and tapping his ass.  Michele looked back at Emil over his shoulder with a look that Emil swore would be the death of him.  Emil unbuttoned his shirt as he walked towards the bed and let it drop to the floor.  He watched Mickey do the same.  Emil crawled up on the bed. He held out his hands to Mickey who also climbed up on the bed.  Mickey then hesitated. He was unsure what to do.  He looked at Emil with questioning eyes. Emil saw Mickey hesitate.  

Emil said huskily, “Just touch me, Mickey.”

Michele kissed Emil’s lips almost chastely. He kissed down Emil’s jaw and then his neck. He felt Emil’s hands in his hair.  Mickey sucked on the juncture between Emil’s shoulder and neck.  He wanted to mark Emil, to let everyone know that Emil was his. Emil groaned. He was becoming wrecked beneath Mickey.  Emil actually liked being marked.  It had been one thing he couldn’t get Anton to do for him.  Didn’t look like it was going to be a problem with Mickey.  

Emil thought _Dear God, he is a biter.  I am finished._  

Mickey nibbled on Emil’s ear and then whispered something into the shell of his ear but in Mickey’s heightened state he had switched to Italian.  Emil thought it was hot. He shivered.

Emil gasped, “Fuck, Mickey.”

Mickey then preceded to kiss his way down Emil’s chest.  He paused over Emil’s nipple.  He licked and sucked the little bud until it hardened under his ministrations.  He tweaked the other one with his fingers.  He had the tall Czech man writhing under his lips and fingers. He liked being able to affect Emil this way.

Emil put his hands on Mickey’s head trying to push him downwards to where he **needed** his attention.

Emil whined, “Mickey, prosím*. . .”

Mickey kissed his way down Emil’s torso until he reached the edge of Emil’s pants.  He looked up at Emil from underneath his eyelashes asking for permission. Emil’s eyes were blown.  He was gripping the sheets like they were a lifeline. He nodded at Mickey. Mickey unbuttoned Emil’s pants and pulled down the zipper.  He licked his lips as he drew down Emil’s pants and underwear. He peeled the pants off of the tall man’s frame.

Mickey thought _How the Hell does he get these on?_

Emil’s erection popped free from his clothing.  Emil moaned at the sensation. Mickey threw Emil’s clothes onto the floor and then turned his eyes to Emil’s freed erection. It was a little longer than his own.  He reached up and wrapped his hand around Emil’s erection. He liked the way his skin contrasted with Emil’s much lighter skin. While Mickey would have liked to try fucking Emil, he didn’t think either one of them would last long enough for that. He moved up in between Emi’s legs and took a chance.  He ran his tongue from base to tip of Emil’s length.  

Emil nearly screamed.  

Emil babbled, “Tak dobré*, Mickey. . . .Mickey. . .prosím.

Michele like the way his nickname sounded in Emil’s desperate voice.  Michele tried taking Emil into his mouth.  Since it was his first time, he couldn’t get all of it in, but he wrapped his hand around the rest of the length and slowly pumped his hand up and down. He slowly moved his mouth off of Emil’s length sucking on the tip as he reached the end.  

Emil thought _Oh God, I am going to come._

Emil, trying to warn Mickey, said “Mickey . .I . .”

But that was all Emil could get out before his body was lost to the pleasure of his orgasm.  Emil had tried to squirm away from Mickey but he hadn’t gotten far enough. He came hard all over Michele’s face.  Emil felt horror (and maybe a little bit aroused) by what he had done.

Emil sputtered, “Oh. . .Mickey. . .I am so sorry.”

Mickey just looked at Emil. Michele thought he would have felt repulsed by having another man’s semen all over his face.  He actually felt more relief and pride that he could make Emil lose control then he felt squeaked out by having Emil come all over his face.  When Emil could breath again, he got up from the bed and got a wet washrag from the bathroom.  He gently cleaned Mickey’s face and sat him on the edge of the bed.

Emil said, “Now, let me make you feel good.”

Emil slid down until he was between Mickey’s knees.  Emil unbuttoned Mickey's slacks and slowly drew his pants and underwear down. He tossed the offending clothes to the floor.  Once Mickey's cock was freed, Emil swallowed it all the way down to the root.  Emil didn’t have much of a gag reflex and he had more than a little experience doing this.  He hollowed his cheeks as he sucked and licked his way down Mickey’s length.  It didn’t take long for Mickey to lose whatever control he had.

Mickey, “Dannazione* Emil.  Dove hai imparato a fare questo*?”

Mikey put his hands on Emil’s head and ran his fingers through his hair trying to anchor himself.  He was quickly losing control but he wanted this feeling to last as long as possible.

Mickey said, “Emil. . .I. . .am . . .going”

Emil knew exactly what he meant.  He looked straight at Mickey and continued his erotic assault of Mickey’s member.  Mickey came down Emil’s throat and Emil sucked him right through the organsm.  When they were through, Emil wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  Michele had collapsed on the bed.  He had never felt so good nor so entirely wiped out before.  He heard Emil get up and go to the bathroom.  He heard the water run as Emil brushed his teeth.  Emil came back into the bedroom and turned off all the lights. Then he crawled into bed with Michele.  Michele scooted back until he hit Emil’s chest.  Emil put his arms around Michele and pulled him in as close as possible.  Emil buried his nose in Michele’s hair.  He sighed.  

_I could stay like this forever._

They stayed like that until they both drifted into sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I didn’t mess up the languages too badly. I don’t know any of these languages and was at the mercy of google translate. If I have made a mistake please let me know and I will change it. Also, this was my first time writing smut. Let me know what you think. Hopefully, I’ll get better at it. Our boys so deserve some sexy times. 
> 
> Czech  
> Prosím--Please  
> Tak dobré--So Good
> 
> Italian  
> Dannazione--God Damn  
> Dove hai imparato a fare questo--Where did you learn to do this?


	14. Thinking Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele's Exhibition Skate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update. I have been out of town. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Emil woke slowly.  The sun was shining in the window.  He was laying on his back and there was someone cuddled up to his side with their head on his arm.  He slowly turned his head and took in Michele’s beautiful sleeping form.

 _So it wasn’t a dream._ Emil thought as he smiled.  But then he looked at the clock.  They had overslept.  Michele needed to be at the rink in half an hour to check in and to warm-up for his exhibition skate.  Emil sat straight up. He leaned over and shook Michele awake.

“Mickey, Mickey.  You’ve got to get up.  You have to be at the rink in half and hour.” Emil said.

“Hmm?” Mickey asked.

“You are going to be late! If you don’t get up right now!” Emil replied.  “Come on.  You need to get up! We overslept.”

“How late is it?” Michele asked.

“You need to be at the rink in half an hour.” Emil said.

“Half an hour!?” Michele replied.  “Fuck.”

Emil jumped up out of the bed.  He pulled his boyfriend out of the bed and practically pushed him into the bathroom.

“I’ll get your clothes.” Emil said.

Emil heard the shower turn on as he went through Mickey’s bag looking for the street clothes he was going to wear to the rink.  He noticed that the costume that Mickey had brought for the exhibition was a different one than he wore at his previous exhibition skate.  

_He must have a new routine that he is trying out today._

He picked up the clothes and walked over to the bathroom. He knocked on the door.  After hearing what he assumed was an affirmative, he open the door and walked into the bathroom.  He placed Mickey’s clothes on the vanity, and had turned around to leave the bathroom when he caught sight of Michele’s silhouette in the shower.  Emil suppressed the groan that rose up in his throat.  If Mickey didn’t have to be at the rink like now, he would have joined him in the shower.  Emil tore his eyes away from the sexy sight and left the bathroom closing the door behind him.  Then he tried his hardest to not think about Michele naked in the shower.  He didn’t have much success as evident by the state of arousal he body was currently in.  Emil heard the shower stop.  A few minutes later a dressed Michele came out in a rush but not so rushed that he didn’t noticed the state that Emil was in.  Michele paused for a moment and then stepped in close to Emil.

Emil thought _Damn, he smells so good.  God, he used my shampoo._

Michele whispered into Emil’s ear, “I wish I didn’t have to go.  You look so sexy all sleepy and disheveled.”

Emil squeaked, “Mickey!”

Michele chuckled and then kissed Emil.

After the kiss, Michele stepped back and then said, “I have to go. You are coming to see me skate, right?  I really need you to be there.”

Emil replied, “Of course, I will be there.  I wouldn't miss it.”

Michele replied, “Good.  I’ll see you after the program.”

Emil shakily replied, “Okay.”

Michele grabbed his gear and left the hotel room.  He was smiling as he caught the elevator.  He ran into his sister in the lobby.  Sara looked at her brother and saw that he was smiling.

Sara said, “Have a good evening?”

Michele replied, “Uh-huh.”

Sara laughed, “I’m glad.”

***** 

Emil was left standing in the middle of his hotel room.  His mind was completely blown.  

He whispered, to the empty room, “Mickey, you can’t just say things like that and then leave.  It's so unfair.”

Emil took a shower and pulled himself together. When he came out of the bathroom, he looked at the time.  He had just enough time to get to the rink and get a seat before it started. Sara and Mickey were both already at the rink since they both had exhibition skates.  Emil walked by himself to the rink.  It was nice to be by himself for a bit.  He needed to think and process what had happened. The last couple of days had been quite the blur.  His whole world had changed in a matter of moments.  He was still nervous about their developing relationship but he was happier than he had been in a really long time. He decided not to over analyze what he and Mickey had at the moment. He walked into the arena and spotted Georgi in the stands.

Emil sat down next to Georgi on the front row.  

Emil said, “Hi, Georgi.  Where is everyone else?”

Georgi replied, “Mila and Yuri placed so they are doing exhibition skates. I don’t know where Yuuri is.  He may have left early to go home considering the circumstances.  Who knows about Seung-hil.  He never hangs out with us anyways.”

Emil nodded and added, “The Crispinos both placed too.”

Georgi said, “It should be a good show then.”    

Emil replied, “Yep.  It should be starting soon.  Who skates first, girls or boys?”

Georgi replied, “The girls I think.”

The lights dimmed as the show started.  Emil watched the girl’s exhibition skate with interest.  He always loved seeing his friends skate.  He was as proud of their wins as he was for his own. Even though Mila gave a lovely performance, Emil thought Sara’s was the best girl’s skate.  

She had gone last of the girls because she had won gold. Now it was Mickey’s turn.  He had gotten bronze so he would be the first to skate.  

Emil sat up and seemed more focused.   When the music began, Emil gasped.

Georgi asked, “What is it, Emil.”

Emil replied, “Nothing.”

Georgi shrugged and went back to watching Michele’s lovely exhibition skate.

Georgi and Emil could hear the announcers over the loudspeakers.

The announcer said, “What a lovely romantic piece. What is it with the guys this year and the love song exhibition skates?  Love must truly be in the air.”

Michele had designed a piece that expressed all the new feelings he had for Emil.

The second announcer said, “Well there are some lucky girls out there this year because you don’t give performances like these boys have done and not be in love.  First it was _Thousand Years_ and now _Thinking Out Loud_.  This is truly the year for romance in the exhibition skates. I wonder if there will be some engagements soon.”

Georgi commented, “He has changed again.  This time he is skating for new love.  This skate is quite different than his competition skate.  I wonder who changed him?”

When Emil didn’t answer, Georgi looked over at Emil.

Emil was just sitting there with a stunned look on his face.  It was like he hadn’t even heard Georgi.  He was mesmerized by Michele’s skating.     

_He designed this for me.  He is skating this for me! He had to have designed this routine before he told me how he felt.  This is his answer._

Emil started crying.  

Georgi noticed and exclaimed, “Emil!  What’s wrong?”

Emil replied, as he wiped the tears from his eyes, “Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.”

Emil got up and went to meet Michele where he was getting off the ice.  He followed him into the skater’s back area.  Michele turned to Emil.

“How did you like it?”

Emil’s answer was to kiss Michele soundly.

“Hmm, that good.” Michele said.

He noticed that Emil’s cheeks were wet.

He frowned and then asked, “Have you been crying?”

Emil simply nodded.

“Why?” asked Michele.

“Because I am impossibly happy?” Emil replied.

Michele smiled and caught by Emil’s shining blue eyes, he leaned in for another kiss.  But he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him.  Sara had walked up without them noticing.  

“I think that is enough PDA for now.” Sara said.  “I think you both should take me to dinner.”

Michele laughed, “Sure, Sara.  Your exhibition skate was perfect as usual.”

Emil joined in, “Yeah, Sara it was really good.”

Sara teased, “But not as good as my brother’s skate?”

Emil blushed.

Sara said, “I loved the new routine, Mickey.  You must have been working hard on it because it was beautiful, and you didn’t have much time to practice it.”

Michele turned to look at Emil, “Well, I had some great motivation.”

Emil looked like he was going to die on the spot.

Emil stuttered, “Dinner, didn’t someone say something about dinner?”

Michele and Sara laughed in unison.  

Mickey replied, “Let Sara and I get changed and then we will go.  We will meet you outside the arena.”

He reached out and tousled Emil’s hair. He had always wanted to do it but had never been brave enough.  He was starting to find his comfort zone with Emil.  This new side of Mickey was totally wrecking Emil.  He blushed again as he felt Mickey’s hand in his hair.

“Ok.” He absentmindedly replied.  “See you in a bit.”

Emil walked to the waiting area outside the arena while Sara and Michele walked towards the dressing rooms.

Sara said, “That skate of yours was so moving.  When did you choreograph it?”

Michele replied, “I started after Skate Canada.  I wasn’t sure then, but I was sure enough that I wanted to at least have this answer to give him.”

Sara sighed, “You two make me crazy.  I’ll say this one thing about you and Emil.  If you hurt him, I will kick your ass.  Emil is in it for the long term.  I’ll repeat my warning from before.  If you are not in it for a long term relationship, then cut him loose. Let him heal and find someone who will treat him the way he deserves.  He is not a sex friend kind of guy.  He tends to give his whole heart away. ”

Michele answered, “I know and I won’t.  I am too.”

Sara said, “That’s all I needed to hear.  Now stop worrying about the logistics.”

Michele started to protest.

Sara interrupted, “I know you, Mickey.  You are worrying about the distance and how you both are going to make this work.  You are a worrier and a planner.  It’s a good thing most of the time but in this case your anxiety could cause you and Emil problems.  Just let it go.  Everything will work out.”

Michele just nodded.

They had reached the dressing rooms.  Michele went into the boy’s locker room and Sara went into the girl’s.  They both quickly showered and changed back into their street clothes.  They packed up their gear and headed to the waiting area of the arena.  Emil was waiting just as he said he would.  He was looking down at his phone so he didn’t notice them right away.  

Michele whispered, “Isn’t he beautiful.”

Sara laughed.

They approached Emil.

Michele asked, “Ready?”

Emil replied, “Sure.  Where are we going?”

Sara said, “We are going to meet Mila at a little restaurant that she knew about from being here before.  She said it was really good and that we can’t leave without having tried it.  They serve traditional Russian cuisine.  She also said she would help us navigate the menu.”

Emil said, “Sounds great.”     

The group had a fantastic dinner with Mila.  They tried a bunch of good food and a couple of types of Vodka.  It was rather late when they began to walk back towards the hotel.

Emil asked, “What time is your plane tomorrow?”

Sara replied, “1 pm.  Yours?”

Emil said, “2 pm.  Want to go to the airport together?”

Michele quickly replied, “Yes.”

Sara and Emil laughed.

Michele said, “What?”

Sara replied, “Nothing.”

Michele scowled.

Emil leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Emil said, “Don’t scowl.  You are lovely when you smile.”

Michele blushed but Emil’s actions had the wanted effect of making Michele smile.

Sara said, as they entered the hotel, “I am guessing you are staying at Emil’s again tonight?”

Michele blushed again and said, “Yes.”

Sara said, “Good.  I am going over to Mila’s room for some girl talk and I may stay over with her then.”

Michele said, “Okay.”

Michele turned to Emil.  “I need to go pack and get a few things.  I’ll be half an hour, that okay?”

Emil replied, “Yep.”

He handed Michele a key to his room.

Michele’s eyebrows raised.

Emil said, “I had them make two just in a case I lost one or something.  Just let yourself in.”

They walked Emil to his room.

Emil said, “See you tomorrow, Sara.  Have a good night.”

She smiled as she said, “You, too.”

Emil blushed at the implications.

The twins went back to their room. They each packed their bags so they would be ready to go in the morning. They also grabbed a few things for their respective sleepovers.

Michele walked back to Emil’s room and let himself in.  It was quiet. Too quiet.  He left his shoes and his bag by the door, and walked into the room.  

_Maybe he is in the bathroom._

Michele's eyes flicked to the bathroom, but the light was off and the door was open. He then looked at the bed where Emil was laid out asleep.

_Looks like he fell asleep waiting for me.  He’ll be so disappointed in the morning._

Michele walked over to the bed.  He looked down at Emil for a moment.

_He looks so innocent when he is asleep.  He looks younger but still so handsome. He looks like a sleeping prince.  Why did I wait so long to go out with him?  This may be the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I hope I don’t screw it up._

Michele reached out and brushed Emil’s hair out of his face.  He tucked the hair behind Emil’s ear.  Emil was smiling in his sleep.

_I wonder what he is dreaming about._

Michele got ready for bed. He set an alarm for the next morning and he went back to the sleeping Emil.  He kissed Emil on the cheek, and then gently pulled the covers out from underneath him, trying not to wake him.  Once he got the covers untucked, he crawled into the bed behind Emil.  He smiled and covered them both up. Michele snuggled up against Emil and slipped an arm around Emil’s waist.  He pulled Emil closer and then fell into a deep restful sleep for the first time in a long time.


	15. Barcelona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emil and Michele go sightseeing in Barcelona at the Grand Prix Final.

It was a day or two after Emil had gotten back from Rostelecom when his phone rang.  He looked at the caller ID and nearly had a heart attack.  It was Mickey.  Emil could count the times that Michele had called him on one hand.  

_ I wonder what is up? _

Emil answered the phone, “Hello.”

Michele asked. “Emil?”

Emil replied, “Hmm.”

Michele asked, “How are you?”

Emil replied, “Good.  What’s up?”

Michele asked, “Are you going to Barcelona for the Grand Prix Final?”

Emil replied, “I was thinking about it.  Are you going?”

Michele said, “Sara doesn’t want me to go, but . . .”

Emil said, “But you just can’t let your little sister go all by herself.”

Michele replied, “Exactly! Some guy might try to hit on her or something.”

Emil laughed and said, “If you go, I’ll come with you.  You can tell Sara that you came to see me rather than to watch over her.  It might lessen her outrage a bit.”

Michele replied, “I was hoping you would come too.  I miss you.  I know I just saw you a couple of days ago, but . . “

Emil replied, “Yeah, me too.”

Emil said, “I have an idea.  Why don’t we go a couple of days before the competition and tour the city a bit.  We can share a hotel room and you can take a different flight than Sara.  That way she won’t know you are there until the competition.”

Michele replied, “That sounds like a great idea.  I’ll see you in Barcelona.”

Emil said, “I can’t wait.”

****

They had arranged to fly to Barcelona around the same time and take a taxi from the airport to the hotel together. They would be staying in the same hotel as the other skaters. 

Emil got to Barcelona first.  His flight was scheduled to arrive half an hour before Michele’s.  His flight had been on time.  He checked the arrival boards to see that Michele’s was on time as well.  He decided he would go retrieve his bags and wait for Michele in baggage claim.  He turned on his phone and checked out his instagram feed.  He scrolled down the feed to see that some of the other skaters had arrived earlier in the day.  He saw that Christophe and Victor were swimming in the pool at the hotel.

_ Aren’t they cold?  _

He grabbed his bags when they came through on the baggage belt and sat down to wait for Michele.  He couldn’t stop the way his heart was racing at the thought of seeing Michele and being able to touch him.  It had only been about a month since he had seen Michele but it seemed like forever.

_ This long distance thing is going to get old soon.  _

It wasn’t too long before he spotted a familiar face in the baggage claim.  Michele spotted Emil at about the same time.  His flight’s luggage carousel hadn’t started moving yet so Michele went over to greet his boyfriend.

Michele said, “Feels like forever since I have seen you.”

Emil said, “I know.”

Emil leaned over and gave Michele a quick kiss on the lips.  Michele blushed. 

Michele stuttered, “Emil.  We are in public.”

Emil just smiled with a so what look on his face.  About that time the luggage carousel for Michele’s flight started up and Michele went to retrieve his luggage.  Emil enjoyed the view as he watched Michele walk over to the carousel.  Once they had Michele’s luggage, they caught a taxi outside the airport to the hotel.   

Michele said, “I just hope we don’t run into Sara.  I’ll talk to her once the competition begins but I don’t want her to send me packing before then.”

Emil laughed, “If she comes after you, you are on your own.  She’s scary when she is mad.”

Michele asked, “Do you know if any of the competitors are here yet?”

Emil replied, “I saw that Chris and Victor were at the pool in the hotel on Instagram, but I don’t know about anyone else.”

Once they got to the hotel and got checked in, they settled into their room and talked about what they wanted to go see the next day.  Emil, of course, had guidebooks galore about Barcelona because he wanted to pick the perfect spots for them to visit. They wouldn’t get to see each other until the European Championships in late January which was over a month away and then they would be apart until the worlds in late March.  He wanted tomorrow to be perfect so they would have some good memories to tide them over until they could get together again. He knew there was a Christmas Market that they should visit but he was still stuck on what landmarks to take Michele to.  There were so many great spots in Barcelona to visit.  Michele wanted to go to Park Güell.  He heard that the architecture was something to see.  There was even a museum there that they could go through.  Emil thought they should go to the Sagrada Família. The pictures that he had seen of it looked impressive.  Once they had the plans for the next day figured out, they went to dinner. They walked around the area near their hotel taking in the ambience of the city.  After a couple of hours, they headed back to the hotel.  They went to bed early so they could get an early start on their sightseeing the next day.

****

Emil got up early.  He showered and then woke his boyfriend up.  Michele wasn’t much of an early riser.  He moaned and groaned.    

Michele mumbled, “Five more minutes?”

Emil laughed, “Get up, sleepy head.  Barcelona awaits!”

Once Michele was in the shower, Emil went downstairs to the coffee shop that he had seen in the hotel. 

The barista said, “Good Morning, sir.  What can I get you this morning?”

Emil replied, “I’ll take a mocha and a black coffee.”

The barista asked, “Name on this order?”

Emil replied, “Emil.”

When the coffees were ready, he took them back up to the room.  The shower had stopped by the time Emil had returned to the room. 

_ Perfect timing.  _

Emil put the coffee on the desk in the room and then got out a box that he had carefully packed in his carry on luggage.  He had made Kolache for Michele again and they would make a lovely breakfast for them.  He had made cream cheese ones for Mickey and cherry ones for himself. He had grabbed some napkins at the coffee shop.  He set a Kolache on a napkin for Michele and one out for himself.  He then sat waiting for Michele to come out of the bathroom. In just a few minutes, Mickey came out still drying his hair.  

Emil said, “I got us breakfast.”

Michele replied, “hmm, thank you.”

Emil handed Michele the coffee and Kolache. 

Michele asked, “Did you bring these with you?”

Emil nodded.

Michele bit into the Kolache.  

He said, “You made these, didn’t you?”

Emil, surprised, asked, “You can tell?”

Michele blushed and replied, “They are so much better than the ones you can buy.  Thank you for making them and bringing them.”

Emil replied, “You are welcome.”

After breakfast they went to the Sagrada Família.  The architecture was truly magnificent.  They toured the inside of the unfinished church.  They also found a nice tourist to take a picture of them in front of the cathedral.  They didn’t post it on instagram since they didn’t want anyone (especially Sara) to know that they were here yet.  After visiting the church, they ate a light lunch at a quiet little spot close to the cathedral.  Then they took a taxi out to Park Güell.  They visited the museum, and walked through the park itself taking in the wildlife and architecture.  They also took the obligatory picture with the lizard.  Near sunset they found themselves where Otabek and Yuri had recently stood when they solidified their friendship. They watched the sunset while they held hands.  Emil suddenly turned to Michele.  He put his free hand on Michele’s face and captured Michele’s lips in a sweet kiss.  

Emil breathed, “I love you.”

Michele, shocked but not dismayed, replied. “I love you, too.”

Emil thought  _ I never thought I would hear that from him.  I am so happy.  _

Emil smiled a thousand-watt smile. You could feel the happiness radiating from him.  Michele smiled a shy smile.  He was happy to make Emil so happy. They stood there hand in hand while the sun set.  It had been a perfect day.

When the sun finally set, they made their way to the Christmas Market.  They shopped for awhile each finding a suitable gift for Sara for Christmas.  They had looked for a gift for each other, but nothing quite seemed right. They saw Victor and Yuuri come out of a jewelry shop.  They didn’t stop the couple, as they looked serious and involved in something, but curious, they did go into the shop.  Emil had been looking at some earrings that he was considering getting his mother for Christmas when he noticed Michele looking at a watch.  It was a very beautiful man’s watch and would match his style well.  

Emil asked, “What you looking at?”

Michele said, “A watch.  I need a new one and this one is pretty nice.”

Emil looked at the other watches in the case. 

Emil said, “Look at this one.  It’s a sport watch that can survive swimming and other extreme conditions.  You can also track your run time and distance on it.”

Michele leaned over to look at the watch.  Michele waved over a sales associate.  

Michele asked, “Can we look at that watch, please?” 

He Indicated the watch that Emil had been looking at.  The sales associate extolled the virtues of the watch and the fact that it came with a sports band or could be upgraded to a leather band.  Michele watched Emil as he looked at the watch.  He could tell that he wanted it.  It was a bit expensive, but it was well within Michele’s budget to spend.  

Michele said, “Let me get it for you, for Christmas.”

Emil tried to protest, “It’s too much.”

Michele said, “This is our first Christmas and I want to get you something special.”

Emil gave in, “Okay.”

Michele asked the sales associate, “Can I get it engraved?”

The associate said, “Yes, it will take about 30 minutes, is that okay?”

Michele said, “Yes.”

The sales associate took the watch and indicated that Michele should follow him to the register to complete the transaction.  When Michele was out of sight, Emil waved over another sales associate. 

She said, “Yes, sir?”

Emil said, “I want to buy this watch (indicating the watch Michele had been looking at) for my boyfriend without him knowing.  He is over at the register right now purchasing something else.  Will you help me?”

She replied, “Of course, I would be happy too.  Would you like it engraved?

Emil said, “Yes.”

She asked, “What would you like it to say?”

Emil replied, “Miluji tě*.”

She asked, handing him a piece of paper, “Can you write that down for me?”

Emil nodded. The associate went to have the watch engraved and to ring up the sale. 

She asked, “When it’s done, would you liked it wrapped?”

Emil replied, “Yes, please.”

Michele finished purchasing the watch and with the wrapped package in hand he went to collect Emil.  Emil was slipping something into his pocket as Michele walked up.

_ Wonder what that is all about? _

Emil asked, “Dinner?”

Michele said, “Sounds good.”

They found a quiet little restaurant near the hotel and sat down to a lovely dinner for two.  When they were finished and having their after dinner coffee, Michele handed Emil the wrapped watch.

Michele said, “I can’t wait for Christmas.  Please open it now.”

Emil took the package and opened it.  It was a lovely watch and he would think of Michele whenever he wore it. He looked at the inscription on the back. It read “ti amo*”

Emil asked, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Michele blushed and nodded. 

He said, “I never want you to forget that I love you.”

Emil said, “I love it, Mickey.  Thank you.”

Emil reached into his pocket and pulled out a package that was wrapped exactly like the one he had just opened. He handed the package to Michele.

Emil said, “I got you something too.”

Michele said, “When?”

Emil just grinned. Michele opened the box to find the watch he had been looking at in the store.  He looked up at Emil with emotion shining in his eyes.  Michele turned the watch over to see the inscription on the back.

He looked up at Emil who nodded.

Emil said, “Seems we had the same idea.”

Michele put the watch on his wrist.

Michele said, “That was quite a surprise.  I love it.  Thank you so much.”

They paid for their meal and headed back towards the hotel. They passed a restaurant and saw that most of the Grand Prix Finalists were eating together.

Emil commented, “That’s unusual.  Normally, you wouldn't see everyone eating together the night before a competition.”

Michele replied, “This does seem to be an enchanted city.”

Emil replied, “Yes, it does.”

A couple of blocks from the hotel, they ran into JJ and Isabella.  

JJ said, “Hey, guys.  Didn’t know you were here.”

Emil replied, “We came to cheer for Sara.”

JJ replied, “Ah.”

Emil said, “We just passed all the other competitors at a restaurant down the way if you want to join them.”

Emil pointed the direction that Michele and he had just come from. 

JJ replied, “Thanks, I think we will.  See you guys tomorrow.  Cheer for me too, will you?”

Emil laughed and replied, “Sure. Have a good evening.”

Emil and Michele walked back to the hotel, enjoying each other’s company and thinking back over the day.

Emil said, “Thank you for today, Mickey.  It’s been one of the best days I have ever had.”

Michele replied, “Me, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations from Google Translate
> 
> Czech  
> Miluji tě--I love you
> 
> Italian   
> ti amo--I love you


	16. Of Watches and Rings

When Emil awoke, Michele was still in the bed with him.

Emil smiled as he thought _No surprise there.  Mickey is not what you would call an early riser.  Should I go get coffee again or wake him up some other way?_

Emil got up and took a shower.  When he was dressed, he went back over to the bed.  He leaned down and kissed his sleeping boyfriend. Mickey groaned but didn’t open his eyes.  Emil leaned down again and kissed Michele.  This time Michele returned the kiss and opened his eyes.  

Michele said, “That is a pleasant way to be woken up.”

Emil smiled and moved to stand back up.  Michele sat up on the edge of the bed.  He put his hands around Emil’s waist and and pulled him to the edge of the bed in between Michele’s legs.  He slid his hands underneath Emil’s shirt. He stroked his hands slowly upward towards Emil’s chest resting his hands on Emil’s back.  Michele looked up at Emil with a question in his eyes.

Emil laughed and said, “We don’t have time for that, if you want to see your sister before the women’s short program.”

Michele seemed to think about it a moment.  Emil could almost see the debate in his head.

Finally, Michele said, “I guess I will shower then.”

As he moved past Emil, Emil dropped a kiss on the back of his neck. Michele shivered and looked over his shoulder at Emil.  That look was Emil’s favorite and it meant that he was in for it tonight when they got back to the hotel room.  Emil went down to the hotel lobby and grabbed them coffee as he had done the day before. The girls behind the counter flirted with him some while they got his order together.

One of the girls asked, “Who is the second coffee for?”

Emil replied, “My boyfriend.”

The girls squealed as he left the coffee shop with his and Michele’s coffee. They still had some of the Kolache he had made so they had the rest of them for breakfast. After they finished breakfast, Michele asked, “Ready to go?  I want to make sure to be there in time to talk to her before she skates.”

Emil replied, “Yes, I’m ready.”

They walked to the elevator and took it down to the lobby.  As they passed the coffee shop, Emil waved at the girls and pointed to Michele.  He could hear the girls squeeing again as Michele and he walked across the lobby.  Emil and Michele decided to walk to the arena. It was a beautiful city and they wanted to see as much of it as possible.  When they got to the arena, they were able to get backstage badges since they were current competing skaters. Once they got into the waiting area, they went to find Sara.  They spotted her sitting next to Mila waiting for the women’s competition to start.  Both girls were texting someone on their phones.

Michele thought _Wonder who she is texting?_

Michele walked up to his sister.  Emil followed along behind.  

Sara said, “What are you doing here, Mickey?  I told you not to follow me to the Grand Prix Final.”

Michele said, “Someone has to make sure the hyenas keep their paws off of you.  And who are you texting.”

Sara replied, “None of your business.  Did you at least bring Emil with you?”

Michele stepped to the side so that Sara could see Emil.

Emil said, “When the competition is over let’s go out and celebrate your win!”

Sara noticed something on her brother’s wrist.  

She said, “Mickey, did you get a new watch?  It looks expensive.”

Michele replied, “It was a gift.”

Sara asked, “From whom?”

She noticed that both Mickey and Emil were blushing.   _Oh,_ she thought, _it was from Emil.  How cute._

Michele replied, “We just wanted to wish you good luck before you skate.  We are going to find a seat up in the stands.”

Michele and Emil found a seat up in the stands.  They waited for the women’s competition to start.  The women were all good, but Mila and Sara were two of the best.  When everyone had skated, Mila was in second place and Sara was in third.  They kept their seats while waiting for the men’s short program to start.  After she changed, Sara joined the boys, sitting down next to Michele.  Yuuri was up to skate first.  The trio watched as Victor and Yuuri clasped hands and kissed their rings.

Sara commented, “Why rings?”

Emil said, “So that is what they bought in the jewelry store.”

Michele said, “I wish I had a ring with. . .”

Emil leaned over and whispered in Michele’s ear, “That can be arranged.  We could go back to the jewelry store.”

Michele shivered at Emil’s breath across his ear and blushed.

Turning from Michele, Emil yelled out, “Good Luck, Yuuri!”

They watched intently as Yuuri did his Eros short program.  When he landed the quadruple flip, Emil got excited and said, “That was close, he almost didn’t land it!”

Michele’s face had been steadily getting darker the longer they watched the men’s short programs.

He thought _I should be out there.  I should have qualified for the Grand Prix.  I am as good as any of them._

Emil asked, “What’s wrong?  You are frowning awful hard.”

Michele replied, “It’s nothing.”

Emil asked, “Are you upset you didn’t make it?”

Michele said, “How did you. . .”

Emil replied, “You came really close.  Anyone would be upset.  And I know you pretty well by now, Mickey.”

Mickey just shook his head as Emil patted him on the knee.  They turned their attention back to the competition.

After Yuri’s routine, Victor and Yuuri sat down next to Sara.  They all watched Chris’s routine.  After Chris’s routine, Yuri came up into the stands and sat behind Sara and Yuuri.  He planted his feet right between their shoulders startling both of them.

Yuri yelled, “Good Luck!” as Otabek took the ice.

No one had expected Otabek to make it to the Grand Prix Final.  He had snuck up on the competition.

Sara commented, “I never really noticed Otabek before.  Up until now, he hasn’t been memorable. But he is a completely different skater now.  You are going to have to keep an eye on him, Mickey.”

Mickey nodded and said, “No one had heard of him at all until the junior division. He just came up out of nowhere.  He skates so powerfully; so different than the rest of us.”

Then it was JJ’s turn.  As JJ took the ice, Emil fulfilled the promise he had made the night before.

Emil called out, “Good Luck, JJ.”

They all sat there stunned as they watched JJ completely crash and burn.

Emil said, “I guess the pressure of the competition got to him, huh?”

Michele said, “Yeah, it’s too bad.  I guess that could happen to any of us, though.”

When the competition was through, Michele turned to Sara and asked, “Would you like to have dinner with Emil and I?  We are going to a little restaurant that is near the hotel.  We promise not to keep you out late tonight.”

Sara smiled and replied, “I would really like that.”

***

Sara watched Emil’s arm all through dinner.  He was wearing a long sleeve shirt that covered his wrist.  She had seen the watch on her brother’s arm and figured it was a gift from Emil.  Now she wanted to see if Emil had a similar gift on his arm. Exchanging watches was almost as cute as Victor and Yuuri’s rings.  She finally got the confirmation she was looking for when Emil lifted his after dinner cup of coffee.  His shirt sleeve rode up as he lifted the cup and exposed the new watch that he was wearing.  

Sara said, “Emil, you got a new watch too?”

Emil looked down at his arm, and replied, “Yes, I did.”

Sara asked, “Was it a gift, like my brother’s?”

Emil nodded.  Both boys were blushing by this point.

Sara smiled as asked, “Did you give each other watches for Christmas?”

Michele said, “And if we did?”

Sara said, “Nothing, I think it’s cute.”

The boys just looked at each other and shrugged. They finished their dinner and walked back to the hotel.  Michele and Emil walked Sara back to her hotel room.  Michele kissed his sister on the cheek.

Michele said, “Good luck on the Free skate tomorrow.  We will be there to support you.”

Sara replied, “I still think you shouldn’t have come, but I do appreciate you being here.”

Michele nodded as Sara closed the door to her room.  Michele and Emil walked back to their room. The took off their shoes and placed them by the door.  Michele sat down on the bed.  He was a little sad that his sister didn’t seem to need him, but he did have Emil.  Emil stood in the middle of the room just looking at Michele.  

Emil thought _I could just stand here forever looking at him.  He is so beautiful._

Emil took a deep breath. Michele looked up at his boyfriend when he heard the intake of breath.

Michele thought _the more time we spend together the harder it is to leave.  I wake up missing him every day in Italy.  Phone calls just aren’t enough. Yuuri and Victor are so lucky.  They get to stay together all the time. I wish Emil and I could have that._

Emil walked up to where Mickey was sitting on the bed.  Their positions were an echo from this morning.  Emil looked down at Mickey.

Emil said, “So, do you want to finish what we started this morning?”

Michele smiled, “Hmm.”

Michele put his arms around Emil’s waist and drew him closer.  Emil’s legs hit the edge of the bed. He leaned down and kissed Michele. It was a deep, but sweet, kiss.  MIchele’s hands traveled the pathway they had this morning over Emil’s torso to his back.  Michele broke the kiss and rested his head on Emil’s torso for a moment.  Emil smiled and gently ran his fingers through Michele’s hair.  

Emil thought _Something is going on in that head of his.  He will tell me eventually but he worries too much._

Emil said, “Whatever is going on in that head of yours forget about it tonight.  We can worry about it together tomorrow.  Tonight, I want you to make love to me.”

Michele made a noise of agreement in his throat as he lifted his head to look at Emil.

Michele thought _I don’t know what I did to deserve him but. . ._

Michele stood as he unwrapped one hand from around Emil to cup his cheek.  He brought Emil’s face down to meet his in a soft but passionate kiss.  Emil opened his mouth instinctively and allowed Michele entrance.  Emil groaned as Michele’s tongue slid over his.  Emil threaded his fingers through Michele’s hair.  Michele groaned; he loved the feel of Emil’s hands in his hair.  Michele broke the kiss and kissed along Emil’s jaw and down his neck.  Michele paused for a moment and reached down to grasp the edge of Emil’s shirt.  He drew the shirt up Emil’s torso, over his head and then dropped the shirt to the floor.  He ran his hands over Emil’s exposed torso and brushed his thumbs over Emil’s exposed nipples.  Emil groaned in pleasure as he felt Michele’s hands move over his body.  

Emil gasped, “Mickey. . .”

Michele grasped Emil’s waist and turned him so that their positions were reversed.  Now, Emil was trapped against the bed.  Michele grinned as he gently pushed Emil onto the bed.  Before crawling onto the bed, Michele removed his shirt and let it drop carelessly to the floor.  Michele pressed his lips against Emil’s in a tender but quick kiss. Then he slowly kissed his way down Emil’s torso until he reached the top edge of his pants.  He looked up at Emil who just nodded.  Michele slipped off Emil’s pants and underwear and they joined the shirts on the floor.  Michele let his eyes travel up the naked and obviously excited body of his boyfriend.  Emil squirmed under his boyfriend’s gaze.

Michele thought _I wonder if he knows how sexy he is?_

Then Michele proceeded to take Emil apart, slowly.  Michele ran his hands over every inch of Emil’s body as if he were memorizing it.  He touched everywhere, except for the one place that Emil wanted Michele to touch him.  Michele began kissing his way across Emil’s body as Emil writhed beneath him.  

As Michele got closer to Emil’s erection, Emil moaned, “Mickey, prosím.  Potřebuji tě*”

Michele reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the bottle of lube they had left there.  He slicked up a finger and slid it inside Emil.  He felt Emil tighten up around him and then slowly relax. He moved his finger in and out until Emil was more open.  He pulled his finger out and slicked up two fingers and slid them into Emil. Emil moaned at the intrusion.  Michele curled his fingers trying to find that special spot inside Emil.  

He heard Emil groan and say, “Pane Bože, Mickey. Prosím, pospěš.”

Michele scissored his fingers side to side stretching Emil further.  Once Emil had been properly prepped, Michele slicked his own erection with lube and slid slowly into Emil. Both boys moaned as Michele stretched and filled Emil. Michele waited, allowing Emil time to adjust. When Emil nodded, Michele slid slowly out of Emil and thrust back in.  He started slowly, wanting this moment to last, but found himself moving faster as he neared orgasm. Emil grasp the sheets with his hands as he writhed under Michele.  Emil could feel his arousal heighten.

Emil moaned, “Mickey. . .Mickey. . . I”

Emil orgasmed, painting both his and Michele’s abs.  His body clamped down on Michele.  Michele groaned out Emil’s name as his body was wracked with waves of pleasure.  When the waves subsided, Michele collapsed on top of Emil.  They were both filthy with cum and sweat. They laid there for a few moments, exhausted, enjoying the afterglow.  

When they had caught their breath, Emil said, “Shower?”

Michele nodded.  The boys dragged their bodies out of bed and got cleaned up.  Once they were done, they fell back into bed together, sleeping in the safe contentment of each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I go butchering Czech again. Let me know if I have made any mistakes. 
> 
> *Prosím--Please  
> Potřebuji tě--I need you.  
> Pane Bože--Oh my God  
> Pospěš--Hurry
> 
> And more smut writing. I hope I am getting better at it.


	17. Not Another Club Scene

“Hurry, Mickey.  We are going to be late.” Emil said. They, again, had forgotten to set the alarm and as a result had gotten up late.  They were currently scrambling around their hotel room trying to put themselves together in time to make the women’s long program competition. Emil wound his scarf around his neck and grabbed Mickey’s hand.

“Ready?” Emil asked.

Michele nodded.  They ran out the door.  

They were halfway to the elevator when Emil asked, “Do you have your pass?”

Michele checked his pockets.  

Michele exclaimed, “Maledizione!*”

Emil said, “I’ll take that as a no.”

They ran back to their room, and looked frantically for Mickey’ pass.  They found it on the floor by the night stand.  Once Mickey had it, they ran back to the elevator. The elevator seemed take forever.  Once they were in the lobby, they hurried past the coffee shop and out the door.  The caught a taxi at the curb to the arena.  At the arena, they found some seats that were high up enough to give them a good vantage point for the competition.  Emil sat down first and Michele hurriedly sat down beside him.  Michele saved two seats on his left for the girls.  He knew they would be joining them after their competition.  Emil and Michele had sat down just as the women’s programs started.  Sara would skate fourth and Mila would skate fifth.  When it was her turn, Sara skated a beautiful and graceful routine.  She included her signature combination of a triple lutz and triple loop.  She executed it perfectly just as Mickey had at Rostelecom. Michele smiled as he watch his sister skate a flawless routine. Her theme for the year had been freedom. This routine always reminded Mickey of something in flight.  He hoped now he could give her the freedom he could see she craved.  Mila’s routine was as powerful as Sara’s was graceful.  Her jumps were controlled and she carried a lot of height in them.  She used difficult entries and exits to the jumps to boost her score. In the end it worked, Mila won the gold and Sara won silver. Once the girls changed out of their performance costumes, they joined the boys in the stands. Sara sat next to her brother and Mila sat next to Sara. They were still wearing their medals and still smiling at their accomplishment.  They settled into their seats next to Michele and Emil ready to watch the men’s programs.  

JJ was up first.  He struggled through his long program just as he had done his short.  He fought against himself to the bitter end and he was able to land a quad toe loop.  The crowd was surprised and elated by his completion of the difficult jump.

Michele said, “What?!  Did he. . .we have to face that at the World’s?”

Emil said, “I guess he has been able to land it practice after all.”

Michele admitted grudgingly, “I guess.”

Phichit skated next. His routine, based on another song from the movies he loved so much, was lively and beautiful.  He executed his routine fantastically, but his program difficulty wasn't enough to allow him to catch up with the other skaters.

Yuuri skated third.  He skated his program with all of his heart and soul evident.  He was putting it all on the line.  Michele could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he watch Yuuri skate.  His program touched him in a way it never had before.  He finally understood the story woven into Yuuri’s skate.  He felt the same way about Emil that Yuuri felt about Victor.   That his life was empty until Emil came into it.  Just like in the music Emil added richness to his life’s song.

Touched by the performance, Michele leaned over and whispered into Emil’s ear, “I love you.”

Emil looked surprised, but whispered back, “I love you, too.”  

Emil slung his arm around Michele’s shoulder holding him close as Yuuri finished his skate. Christophe skated next.  He looked to be struggling a bit, which was unusual for Christophe.  He almost looked tired.  He just didn’t skate the way he usually did which took him out of the running for a medal.  

Emil said, “I wonder what is on Christophe’s mind?  I have seen him skate better than this.”

Michele replied, “Hmm, I know.  His skating usually has more spark.”

Otabek skated after Christophe.  He cut a fine figure in his free skate outfit. It was much more flattering than his short program outfit.  His performance was more powerful but perhaps less graceful than the other skaters. He executed his program flawlessly. Mila blushed as she watched Otabek skate.

Mila said, “Damn, he’s hot.”

Sara added, “And a little mysterious too.”

Michele looked at the girls with his eyebrows raised but didn’t comment.  Finally, it was Yuri’s turn to skate.  He fell once in a jump but got up and soldiered on. He looked angry as he danced over the ice.  He barely hung onto first place taking home the gold.  Yuuri was a close second and JJ somehow managed to squeak past Otabek for third.

When the medal ceremony was over, Emil looked at the girls and said, “Want to go out to a club tonight to celebrate your wins?”

Both girls nodded, and Michele sighed.

Michele thought _I hate going to the club.  People will have their hands all over Sara and Emil. It's just a nightmare for me.  I hate clubbers!  Please tell me Emil isn’t planning on wearing those pants again.  I will go insane._

The girls went and grabbed their gear and they all walked back to the hotel together.  

Sara said, “Meet back here in an hour?  We could go grab a bite to eat and then head to the club La Barceloneta? Christophe says he had been there before and that it is a good place to go.”

Emil replied, “Sounds like a plan.  See you in an hour.”

The boys headed back to their hotel room.  Emil opened the door and Michele followed him into the room.  Emil immediately began to retrieve the clothes he brought to go out in from the closet. Michele walked up behind Emil and put his arms around Emil’s waist and laid his head on Emil’s back.

Michele sighed and said, “Please don’t wear that out tonight.”

Emil asked, “Why? Don’t you like it?”

Michele replied, “hmm, I do very much.  But I don’t want other people ogling you in that outfit.”

Emil blushed and said, “But Mickey, I don’t have anything else to wear except what I already have on.”

Michele let go of Emil and stepped back.  He looked at Emil’s outfit.  He was wearing his favorite black t-shirt with a gray hoodie over it. His pants were black athletic pants with a stripe down the side.

Mickey shrugged and said, “Then just wear that.  I think you look good in whatever you wear.”

Emil blushed again and said, “If I don’t change, then neither should you.  Just wear what you are wearing as well.”

Michele looked down at his ¾ sleeve button up shirt and the khakis he had on.

Michele agreed, “Ok.”

Emil said, “The girls will be disappointed if we don’t dress up.”

Michele shrugged again, “Let them.”

Emil said, “You would disappoint your sister?”

Michele replied, “To keep predators off of you?  Absolutely.”

Emil sighed and gave in.

He said, “Okay.  If that is what you want.  As long as they let me in the club, I don’t care.”

Michele smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Emil rolled his eyes and said, “You can be so . . .”

His sentence was interrupted by Mickey’s lips on his.

Emil returned the kiss. The kiss turned desperate. Both boys were very conscious of the fact that their vacation in Barcelona was almost over.

After the kiss, Michele leaned into Emil enjoying the close contact and said, “I love you.”

Emil smiled and said, “I love you, too.”

They stayed like that for awhile breathing each other in.  Each wondering how they would manage without the other when they had to go home.

Finally, they broke apart. They cleaned themselves up and straighten the clothes they had on the best they could. They spent the rest of their hour chatting about the competition, the different skaters routines,  and if they could possibly beat them at the European's  and the World’s. When they met the girls downstairs, Emil could instantly see that they were disappointed in their clothing choice.

Sara said, “I was hoping you both would dress up.  You look so pretty together when you do.”

Emil shrugged and looked at Mickey.

Sara thought _Ah, this is Mickey’s doing. Wonder why he didn’t want Emil to dress up? Is he that possessive?_

They four of them walked to a restaurant that Mickey and Emil had found during their wanderings in the city.  They had a nice dinner with good conversation.  Then they walked to the club that Christophe had suggested.  The bouncer frowned at Emil’s choice of wardrobe but didn’t deny him entry.  Mila and Sara went straight to the dance floor and started dancing.  The boys decided they needed a drink first. They ordered their usual, beer for Emil and wine for Mickey.  

Emil said, “Thank you.”

Mickey asked, “For?”

Emil replied, “Coming with us tonight.  I know clubbing is not your scene.”

Mickey blushed and mumbled, “Well, I couldn’t let you go out alone.”

When they finished their drinks, Emil smiled and said, “Want to dance with me?”

Mickey nodded and the boys headed to the dance floor. They manage to find some space close to the girls.  They were all dancing together when Sara noticed that Mila was distracted.

Sara asked, “Mila, what’s wrong?”

Mila replied, “That boy the bouncer is kicking out looks an awful lot like Yuri.”

Sara said,“It can’t be, right? Isn’t he only 15?”

Mila said, “Yeah, but I am going to check it out anyways.”

Sara replied, “I’ll come with you.”

When the girls got outside, they found it was Yuri that had been ejected from the club.

Mila asked, “What are you doing here?”

Yuri replied, “I am looking for Otabek.”

Sara said, “We didn't see him inside.  It's unlikely he would be here anyways since this club is for more serious clubbers.”

Mila asked, “Did you call him?  You have his number, right?”

Yuri replied, “He won’t pick up.”

The boys came out of the club and joined the girls talking to Yuri.

Mila said, “Do you want hang out with us instead?”

Yuri replied, “Hell no, you old hag.”

Mickey said, “Brats should mind their manners.  Don’t you have an exhibition skate tomorrow?  Maybe you should go home, and get to bed early.”

Yuri replied, “Shut up.”

Sara pointed to a pool outside and said, “Emil, that pool looks like it would feel great.  I bet it's just the thing to cool off a hothead.”

Emil picked up Yuri and said, “It sure does, Sara.”

Michele just smiled at the antics of his boyfriend and sister.

Yuri squirmed in Emil’s hold and said, “Cut it out.  Put me down.”

Sara replied, “Do you promise to stop treating us so badly?  We are just trying to help you. You are the Grand Prix gold medalist.  Stop acting like a whiny brat.

Mila said, “Think about how Otabek feels, Yuri.  He lost to you today. In your senior debut. He’s got to be feeling down about it.”

Sara said, “He didn’t even medal.  Maybe you should leave him alone for tonight.”

Yuri replied, “He’s my friend.  Why should I leave him alone? If he is upset that I won, he should just tell me.  I have something to tell him that I need to tell him tonight. I want to find him no matter what it takes. If I can’t find him, then I won’t skate in the exhibition!”

Mila said, “Is this your way of blackmailing us into helping you find Otabek?”

Michele asked, “Why are you always threatening people?”

Emil said, “You are incorrigible, Yuri.  You should be nicer to your fellow skaters.”

Sara said, “Let’s just get this over with before it ruins the rest of our night.”

Mila said, “Let’s see if together we can find Otabek for Yuri.”

Sara said, “Okay. But what can we do?”

Emil suddenly had an idea and said, “I know.  I bet Leo would know where Otabek is. He keeps up with everyone on Instagram.”

Michele, frowning, said, “You have Leo’s number?”

Emil replied, “Sure, it’s . . .”

Michele said, “I only have your number.”

Emil blushed.

Mila said, “Yuri, you will have to call the other skaters. We aren’t going to call them for you.”

Yuri said, “Hag.”

After Yuri collected the numbers of the others skaters from Mila, Sara, and Emil he went off to call Leo and hopefully obtain the whereabouts of Otabek.

Meanwhile, Mila, Sara, Emil, and Michele went back into the club.  The girls went back out on the dance floor but Michele had seemed to become morose.

Michele thought _What if Emil did that to me.  I couldn’t stand it if he abandoned me even for an evening.  Why does he have Leo’s and everyone else’s number?  Aren’t I enough? We leave the day after tomorrow to go home. How can I . . ._

Michele went to the bar and got another glass of wine and a third soon followed. Emil noticed that Mickey was drinking more than usual.  He sat down beside him at the bar.

Emil asked, “Are you okay?”

Michele, not wanting to worry Emil, nodded.

Emil asked, “Are you sure?  I’ve never seen you drink like this.”

Michele nodded again.

Emil sighed and said, “I guess you don’t want to talk about it.  I’ll be here when you are ready.”

Michele said, “Why don’t you go dance with the girls?”

Emil said, “I’d rather sit here with you.”

Michele shrugged and went back to drinking his wine. A couple more glasses later Michele was thoroughly drunk.  Emil found Sara and Mila.

Emil said, “Sara, I am going to take Mickey back to the hotel.”

Sara asked, “Is he sick or just being a wet blanket?”

Emil replied, “He’s drunk.”

Sara said, “What?  He never drinks too much.  What’s wrong?”

Emil shook his head and said, “I don't know.  He was fine when we got here but after we got done with Yuri he started drinking.  He won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Sara said, “He can be stubborn.  Good luck.  Call if you need reinforcements.”

Emil said, “I will.  You and Mila be careful getting back to the hotel.  If you want me to come back and walk you back to the hotel, call me.”

Sara said, “We will.”

Sara kissed Emil on the cheek before going back to Mila and dancing.

Michele thought _he should be with Sara.  She is nicer than me.  He deserves better than me. Can I ever be enough?_

Emil went back to the bar, and made sure Mickey’s tab was settled.  Once that was all sorted, he picked Mickey up off the bar stool and carried him back to the hotel. When he got them to their room, he sat Mickey down on the edge of the bed while he went to get him some water. When he came back, he saw that Mickey was crying.

Emil sat the water on the nightstand and crouched down to be on Mickey’s level. He cupped Mickey's face with his hands using his thumbs to wipe away his tears.

Emil said, “Mickey, please. Tell me what is wrong.”

Michele said, “Am I enough?”

Emil, confused, asked, “What do you mean?”

Michele cried, “Am I enough for you?  You have all those other people’s numbers. You deserve so much better than me.  Can I ever be enough?”

Emil replied, “Mickey, of course you are enough! I love you, not the imaginary someone else you think I deserve.  Come here.”

Emil enveloped Michele in a hug and let Mickey cry himself out. He heard Mickey’s breathing even out.  

_Good, he’s asleep.  I don’t what brought this on.  I’ve never seen him like this.  It's like he thinks I am going to leave him.  Maybe it's the idea that we have to go home day after tomorrow and it's a month until the European’s.  Being apart is hard on both of us.  I thought it was just me but evidently it's affecting Mickey too. But I think I have a solution to that, if Mickey agrees._

Emil gently undressed Mickey, and tucked him into bed. Emil got ready for bed and slipped in next to Mickey.  Emil reached out and put his arms around Mickey.  He drew him close until Mickey was curled against his chest.  Mickey sighed in his sleep and seemed to settle. Emil lay there for a long time watching his boyfriend sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maledizione* -- Curse or damn


	18. Stay Close to Me

Mickey was still morose when he woke up the next morning, and he had a terrible hangover.

_I can’t believe I acted that way last night.  I hope Emil will forgive me. I ruined our night out._

Mickey got out of bed and went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and took some Advil.  He also drank a couple of glasses of water. When he came back, Emil was awake.  Emil patted the bed in front of him and Michele climbed back into the bed. Emil wrapped his arms around Michele and pulled him close. Michele could feel the warmth of Emil’s body against his own and sighed in contentment.

_I am going to miss this when I go home._

Emil kissed Michele on the forehead and then asked, “How do you feel this morning?”

Michele said, “Hungover.”

Emil chuckled and said, “Well, that’s to be expected considering the amount of wine you consumed last night.”

Michele winced and said, “I’m sorry.”

Emil asked, “For what?”

Michele replied, “For ruining our night out.”

Emil said, “Don’t worry about it.  But I wish you would talk to me when something is bothering you like that.  We should be able to talk about things. I want you to trust that I will be there for you, Mickey.”

Michele said, “I know.  I’m sorry.”

Emil asked, “Do you want to tell me what is bothering you?”

Michele said, “It’s silly.”

Emil replied, “Not if it is bothering you, it isn’t.”

Michele said, “It’s just that being apart is tough.  I keep thinking you will find someone better for you than me.  I mean you are so friendly with everyone.  You have everyone’s number.  You deserve better than a grumpy old man like me.”

Emil sighed and held Michele tighter, “I don’t want anyone else, Mickey.  I’ve loved you for a long time. Why won’t you believe me? I’ll delete everyone else’s number if that will make you happy. Being apart is hard, for both of us.  I miss you so much when we are apart that I can’t hardly stand it.”

Michele said, “We’ve got to fix this apart thing, somehow.  It’s just not working well for us.”

Emil replied, “Hmm.  It would be nice to wake up with you every day.”

Michele said, “It’s nearly a month until the Europeans.  How. . .?”

Emil replied, “It will go by fast.  We will be training, and there is always Skype?”

Michele shook his head and mumbled, “It just isn’t enough.”

Emil sighed and said, “I know, love.  I know.”

They laid together in bed for a few minutes in silence until Emil said, “Let’s go out and see some more of the city.  Let’s make this a great day and then we will go see the exhibitions tonight.  That way we will have some good memories to get us through the next month.”

Michele replied, “Sounds good, but let’s lay here a few more minutes.  I want to feel you next to me.”

Emil blushed, hugging Michele tighter to him, and said, “I love you.”

Michele replied, “I love you, too.”

After finally crawling out of bed, the boys got cleaned up and headed out into the city.  They went to the Picasso museum and had lunch in an intimate little restaurant they had found.  They spent the afternoon at Montjuic Castle. That evening they went to the exhibition skates. They found seats halfway up the arena when they could get a good view of the routines. Mila and Sara would be performing since they both medaled.  The girls skated their routines first.  Sara skated before Mila.  Her exhibition skate was all about freedom and standing on her own.  The first time Michele had seen the routine it had both saddened him and enraged him.  Now, he could see her point of view.  Being with Emil had changed him in significant ways.  He was ready to let his sister spread her wings. He looked over at Emil and smiled.  What a difference a few months had made. Mila’s skate was a classic artistic piece that showed off a lot of her skills.

Emil commented, “She is very talented, isn’t she?”

Michele replied, “All the Russians are.”

Emil nodded. Now it was time for the Men’s skate. JJ skated first.  His piece was another glorifying the talent that hadn’t appeared in the Grand Prix.  Michele felt a little sorry for JJ.  He hoped the boy got himself together before the World’s. Michele only wanted to compete against people when they were at their best.  Katsuki Yuuri’s routine was next.  He was skating to his coach’s old routine _Stay Close to Me._ Mickey gasped like everyone else in the crowd as Victor skated onto the ice to skate with Yuuri. The sentiment of the song hit Michele right in the heart.  He felt tears forming in his eyes as he watch the way that Victor and Yuuri skated together.  You could tell that they were in love.

_They get to be together when they leave here.  I want that.  I want Emil to stay close to me and never leave. I need him._

After Yuuri’s skate, Michele turned to Emil.  Emil saw the tears in Michele’s eyes.

Emil, his brow wrinkling, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Michele blurted, “Come live with me.”

Emil, confused, said, “What?”

Michele said, “Come live with me.  Move to Italy.  I just. . .”

Emil smiled and said, “I know.”

Emil ran a hand through Michele’s hair and then cupped his cheek.  He leaned in, perhaps to kiss Michele, but they were interrupted by Yuri’s exhibition skate beginning.  Hearing the unfamiliar music they turned to watch the boy’s routine.

Emil said, “This is definitely not the exhibition skate that he has done the rest of the year.”

Michele replied, “Indeed.”

They gasped with the crowd when they saw Otabek on the ice.

Michele said, “I didn’t even know they knew each other.”

Just then Otabek pulled off Yuri’s gloves with his teeth.

Emil said, “Damn, Otabek.  I’d say they know each other quite well.”

Michele exclaimed, “But Yuri’s only 15!”

Emil replied, “Oh, I doubt they have done anything.  Otabek’s too good a guy for that. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up together when Yuri’s old enough.”

Michele nodded and said, “Those were some interesting routines tonight, huh?”

Emil replied, “Yes, we’ve had some interesting exhibition skates this year.”

Michele blushed knowing that Emil was referring to their own exhibition skates.

Michele said, “Let’s go back to the hotel. We only have tonight left and I want spend it alone with you.”

Emil nodded.  They got up from their seats and went back to the hotel.  Michele sent Sara a message saying he would see her tomorrow at the airport. He knew she would probably rather spend the evening with Mila anyways.

When they got to their hotel room, they hung up their jackets and Emil turned to Michele and kissed him.  This was not a kiss of impatient passion but one of tenderness and care. Michele returned the kiss as he ran his hands under Emil’s shirt.  He needed to touch his boyfriend; to imprint Emil’s body on his fingertips to last him the month they would be apart.

When they broke apart, Michele asked, “May I?”

Emil nodded. Michele slipped Emil’s shirt off.  Emil moaned as he felt Michele’s hands caressing his torso. It was soft gentle touches as if Michele thought he might break Emil if he touched him too harshly. Emil caught Michele’s lips in another kiss.  Mickey’s lips parted allowing Emil to slip his tongue into Mickey’s mouth.  Mickey groaned as Emil’s tongue slid over his. Emil buried his hands in Mickey’s hair, overwhelmed by sensation. Mickey’s hands stilled.  He grasped onto Emil’s back.  When they parted, Michele inclined his head towards the bed and took Emil’s hand.  Emil followed Mickey to the bed that they had shared for the past several days. Michele removed his own shirt before climbing into the bed.  He pulled Emil onto the bed with him. On their knees, the boys shared a kiss before Michele slowly pushed Emil down on the bed.  Michele looked into his lover’s vibrant blue eyes before kissing him softly.  Michele then kissed down Emil’s neck, sucking at the juncture between his neck and shoulder, leaving a mark.   Mickey continued his kissing assault down Emil’s chest and torso.  He paused for a moment over Emil’s nipples giving them some special attention with his tongue, making Emil writhe at the sensation.

Emil, his fingers twining in Mickey’s hair, groaned, “Mickey. . .prosím*.”

Mickey licked and kissed his way down Emil’s abs until he reached the edge of Emil’s pants.  Mickey flicked his eyes to Emil’s, asking for permission.  Emil nodded and Mickey unbuttoned Emil’s pants and slowly drew the zipper down.  He hooked his fingers into Emil’s underwear and pants and slowly drew them down.  Mickey tossed Emil’s clothes to the floor.  Kneeling between his boyfriend’s legs, Mickey stopped for a moment and looked Emil up and down.  Michele drew in a shaky breath.

_I still can’t believe I get to touch him like this._

Emil blushed under Mickey’s gaze.

Emil said, “Touch me, Mickey. . .prosím.”

Michele smiled as he slipped off his own pants and then reached for the lube on the bedside table.  He kissed his way up Emil’s inner thigh and then he hooked Emil’s leg over his shoulder.  He slicked up the fingers on one hand with lube.  With his clean hand he grasped the base of Emil’s erection as his took the tip of it into his mouth. Emil groaned at the sensation.  Mickey gently circled Emil’s opening with one lubed up finger before slowly and gently slipping the finger inside.  Emil stiffened slightly at the intrusion but immediately relaxed.  Michele moved his finger in and out until he felt Emil loosen up while continuing to distract Emil with his mouth.  Eventually Emil loosened up enough for Michele to insert two fingers.  He slowly moved them in and out of Emil scissoring them back and forth.  Emil was now loose enough to take three fingers. Michele inserted three fingers and moved the fingers in and out of Emil.  He curled his fingers at just the just angle to hit Emil’s prostate gland.  The sensation had Emil groaning and arching off the bed.

Emil gasped, “Mickey. . .Bože. . .prosím. . . potřebuji”

Michele pulled his fingers out and spread lube on his erection.  He slowly entered his boyfriend allowing him to adjust to the intrusion.  Emil groaned at the sensation of being filled as Mickey bottomed out.  

Emil said, “Move, prosím.”

Michele began sliding in and out of Emil.

Michele said, “Ti senti così bene, Emil.”

Emil said, “Rychleji.”

Michele, getting the gist of Emil’s request, began moving faster, pounding into Emil.  One of Emil’s hands was twisted in the bedsheets like he was trying to anchor himself there while the other was moving up and down his own erection catapulting him towards completion.  

Emil gasped, “I. .”

As his eyes closed and his whole body was wracked in waves of ecstasy.  As he came, his body clamped down on Mickey who lasted only a couple of more thrusts before emptying himself into Emil. Mickey slumped over Emil who put his arms around his boyfriend.  They laid there until their breathing evened out and their hearts stopped racing.  Mickey slipped out of Emil and stood up, helping Emil to his feet.  He helped him into the shower and cleaned up his boyfriend before washing himself.  Once they got dried off they went back to bed and cuddled in each other’s arms until sleep found them.

*********

The next day

They had booked flights that left only a few minutes apart.  Sara had an earlier flight and was already on her way home to Italy. Michele and Emil sat next to each other at the airport waiting for their flights.  Emil’s left first so they were waiting close to his gate. When it was time for Emil to board his flight, Michele walked Emil to his gate.  They stood there for a moment looking at each other.  They both knew they had to go but neither wanted to leave.  They could see their own sadness reflected in the other’s eyes.  Emil stepped closer to Michele and softly kissed him goodbye.  

Michele spoke softly, “I’ll miss you.”

Emil replied, “Me too, but it’s only a month to Europeans.”

Michele said, “It will seem like forever.”

Emil said, “I know.”

The voice called over the loudspeaker announcing boarding had started for Emil’s flight.

Emil said, “I have to go.”

Michele replied, “I know.”

Emil said, “I love you.” As he turned from Michele and started walking towards the gate.

Michele reached out and caught him by the shoulder.  Emil turned around, surprised.

Michele said, “I love you, too.”

Emil smiled as Mickey kissed him.

When they parted, Michele said, “Have a safe flight. Call me when you land.”

Emil nodded and went to board his flight.  Michele stood there looking lost as he watched Emil’s plane take off.  Once the plane was airborne, he shook his head to clear it.  He heard the announcement for the boarding of his flight. Michele slowly walked to his gate and boarded his flight.  He sat in his seat thinking that home didn’t feel like home anymore.  It really wasn’t a place he wanted to go back to, even though his sister was there. His heart was missing.  It was currently flying farther away from him to the Czech Republic.  He would miss the warmth and laughter that Emil provided to his life.  Naples was going to feel so lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am botching other people's languages again. Evidently, Czech is tricky language and Google translate sucks. Thank you to Gebi for helping me with the language. Emil may just have to use English only in my future stories. Please let me know if I translated anything else too badly. Hope you enjoy this installment. Please leave comments and kudos. Thanks for reading. Come yell at me on Tumbler if you have a mind to we can talk about the boys @auronevardell. 
> 
> Czech 
> 
> *prosím--Please  
> Bože--God  
> potřebuji--I need  
> Rychleji--Faster
> 
> Italian 
> 
> Ti senti così bene--You feel so good


	19. Tiramisu

Epilogue

He’d said yes and he was coming today! Michele was nervous, anxious, but excited.  Emil was to arrive this afternoon and not just for a visit but to move in with him.   

_ I can’t believe he said yes. I still don’t know how I convinced Emil to move to Italy and train with me, but I got so tired of us being apart.  Long distance relationships suck. _

Emil had sent several boxes ahead of his arrival. They had arrived yesterday.  Michele didn’t open them but he was sure that they were full of his gear.   Later Michele would find out that the boxes held both his skating and the gear for his extreme sports; some of his clothes; some movies; and even a few books.  Everything else Emil had sold or given away.  Emil didn’t really think he would ever return to the Czech Republic, not if things went well, anyways. 

Michele wondered _ Why am I so nervous?  We have been talking about this for months.  We have vacationed together and spent every moment we can steal during competitions together.  But that is not living together, is it?  I hope this doesn’t turn out to be awkward. Maybe I should do something special to welcome him to his new home.  That has a nice ring to it, a home that Emil and I share.  I know, I could make Tiramisu.  I have watched Sara do it many times, it can’t be that hard, can it? _

He pulled out the recipe book that Sara had left when she moved to the apartment across the hall.  They had gotten lucky in that they were able to find her a place in the same building.  Now she had a greater sense of freedom living on her own, but her brother was right across the hall should she need him.   

_ I never thought I would be okay with my baby sister moving out.  But we are both growing up and figuring out our own lives.  I definitely wouldn’t want her to be living with us.  That would be awkward.  _

He looked at the list of ingredients.  Eggs, sugar, and milk he already had in the kitchen.  Mascarpone cheese, whipping cream and ladyfingers he would have to go to the store and buy. 

_ I think we have vanilla.  Let me check. _

Michele went over to the cupboard and indeed there was vanilla.  

_ Of course I have espresso, I just have a brew some.  I have the rum, but I will have to pick up some cocoa.   _

Michele made his shopping list and went down to the corner neighborhood store and picked up the other items.  When he got back to his apartment, he spread his bounty on the kitchen counter.  He consulted the recipe and started working on what he hoped would be a culinary masterpiece for his boyfriend.  

_ Ok, first I need six egg yolks.  I will have to separate the egg yolk from the egg whites.  _

It took Michele two or three eggs to figure out how to separate the yolk from the whites of the egg.  After separating six egg yolks, he whisked in sugar and milk.  He then heated the mixture to make a simple custard.  Unfortunately, he burned the first batch.  

_ This is harder than it looks. _

After a trip to the store for another dozen eggs, he finally made the custard successfully and had it setting up in the fridge.  Once the custard was chilled, the mascarpone cheese blended nicely into the custard.  However, the whipped cream was a little harder to manage.  When he first started whipping the cream, it seemed to take forever before it started to become cream.  For a moment, he thought he had done something wrong and that it was never going to whip up. Finally, it started making the peaks that were described in the recipe, but then it got everywhere.  All over him, even in his hair, and all over the counter.  It was a mess. He never knew making tiramisu was so messy.  He needed to finish making the desert and get the kitchen cleaned up before Emil arrived.  He got out the baking dish that Sara normally used to contain the layered confection.  He put the first layer of ladyfingers into the dish.  He brushed each of the cookies with espresso. He then tried to spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top of them.  It wasn't as easy as it looked. The mixture stuck on the ladyfingers and didn’t spread as easily or as smoothly as Michele would have liked. He was beginning to get frustrated.  He wanted the desert to be perfect for Emil.  He finally got the cheese mixture spread over the cookies.  The whipped cream was a lot easier to manage than the cheese mixture.  It went on pretty smoothly.  Michele was halfway finished.  He constructed another layer of ladyfingers, cheese and whipped cream. Then he put the desert in the fridge.  It needed to chill several hours before it would be ready to eat. 

_ I need to clean all this up before it’s time to go get Emil.  I have about an hour before I have to go and pick him up at the airport.  We have been apart too long. I can’t wait to see him.  _

Michele got the kitchen all cleaned up just in time to pick up Emil at the airport. Michele parked the car in the short term parking and went inside the airport.  

_ Is he here?  His plane was supposed to land a few minutes ago.  I really want to see him.  I have actually missed the idiot. _

Michele hurried inside the airport and stood just outside the security area waiting for a glimpse of his boyfriend.  A few minutes later he spotted Emil in the crowd.  He was hard to miss being taller and fairer than most of the people around him.  Emil’s eyes lit up when he saw Michele. When Emil made it to the bottom of the stairs, he enveloped Michele in a warm hug.  

Emil said, “I have missed you so much.  I am glad this time I am coming to stay.”

Michele surprised Emil by pulling him into a kiss.  Michele had been insistent about them not engaging in PDA. 

When the kiss broke, Michele murmured, “Hmm, me too.  Let’s go get your luggage and go home.”

Both boys blushed and smiled as they realized that home now meant their home. They picked up Emil’s luggage and headed to Michele’s car.  After storing Emil’s luggage in the trunk, Michele slid into the driver’s seat.  As Emil got into the car, he noticed something on the side of Michele’s head right at his hairline. 

Emil asked, “What’s in your hair?”

Michele replied, “I don’t know.”

Emil used his finger to wipe the substance off of Michele.  Curious, he brought the substance to his nose to smell. 

_ Is it. . .whipped cream?  What has Michele been up to? _

Michele, impatient, asked, “Well, what is it?”

Emil replied, “I believe that it is whipped cream.”

Michele thought  _ shit, I thought I got it all.  Must have missed a spot.  _

Emil asked, “What have you been up to Mickey?”

Michele replied, “You’ll just have to wait and see until we get home.”

Emil smiled and look at the city that he was now to call home as they drove through it. 

When they got to the apartment building, Michele helped Emil bring his luggage up the stairs.  They finally made it to the third floor to their apartment.

Michele said, “Sara has the apartment directly across from us.  We got lucky that an apartment opened up in this building.”

Emil nodded.  Michele let them inside the apartment. Emil looked around his new home.  It was a little nicer than his apartment in Prague but it was cheaper since he was sharing the rent with Mickey.  

_ Also I won’t have to pay for transportation like I did in Prague.  We can walk to the rink from here. I wonder what my room looks like.  I wonder if I need to go buy a bed today.  _

Emil turned to Mickey. 

“Where should I put my stuff?  I’d like to get settled in a bit before dinner.”

Michele replied, “Of course.”

Michele gestured to the first bedroom.  

“That first bedroom is the one I’ve been sleeping in and Sara had been staying in the second one.”

Emil started rolling one of his suitcases towards Sara’s room.

Michele said, “Where are you going?”

Emil, confused, replied, “I figured I was staying in Sara’s old room.”

Michele, blushing, said, “You can if you want.  If you want your own space but I thought. . .”

Emil looked up and asked, “You thought?”

Michele replied, “That. . .oh Hell, Emil. You know that I am no good with words.  Let me show you.”

Michele walked into his bedroom.  There was a king size bed taking up most of the floor space.  Emil could tell it was new.  Michele opened the drawers on the left side of the dresser.  They were empty.

_ Oh my God, he wants me to stay with him.  _ **_In his bedroom._ ** _ He even cleaned out drawers for me and bought a bigger bed. I don’t know what to say.  I am so happy.   _

Emil thought his heart might burst as he watched Michele opened the closet.  Michele had left half the rack space for Emil and there was a space next to Michele’s duffle on the closet floor for Emil’s gear.  

Michele sighed and said, “but if you don’t . . .”

Emil placed his hands on Michele’s shoulders and spun him around.  He kissed Michele and then enveloped him in a hug. 

Emil mumbled into the top of Mickey’s head, “No, I want. . . to stay with you.  I’ve had enough space to last me a lifetime.”

Michele sighed and relaxed into Emil’s embrace.

_ I am glad.  I thought I might be overstepping.  Moving in was a big step but I just . . . _

They stayed like that awhile just enjoying their ability to touch each other and be in the same space.  The long distance between them had been hard on them and their relationship. 

Michele said, “Let’s get some of your things unpacked and then see about dinner.”

Emil reluctantly let go of Michele.  He put his suitcase on the bed and began to move his clothes into their designated spots.  Michele went back to the living room and brought in Emil’s duffle which he placed next to his.  He also grabbed Emil’s second suitcase. Emil hung his t-shirts and his few dress clothes next to Michele’s more fashionable button down shirts.

_ I should buy a few more classy things like Mickey’s so I don’t embarrass him when we go out.   _

It took them about an hour to unpack his suitcases.  The boxes could wait until tomorrow since they both had taken the day off to get Emil settled in. 

Michele said, “Why don’t you relax while I fix dinner?”

Emil asked, “Do you need any help?”

Michele shook his head.

“I did most of the prep this afternoon.”

Emil sat at the counter and watch Michele get dinner ready.  Michele felt himself blush under his boyfriend's watchful gaze. 

He asked, “Isn’t there something else you would rather do than watch me?”

Emil replied, “Not really.”

Michele said, “Why don’t you set the table while I finish up?”

Emil replied, “Okay.” As he took the plates and silverware that Michele handed him. 

By the time Emil had finished setting the small kitchen table, Michele had finished their simple dinner.  It was a simple but delicious pasta dish.  Once they had finished it, Emil started to get up to do the dishes but Michele stopped him.

Michele said, “I made dessert, too.”

Emil just raised an eyebrow. Michele got up and went to the kitchen.  He pulled the chilled tiramisu out of the refrigerator. He cut two squares of it out of the dish and sprinkled some cocoa on top. He took them back to the table. As Emil took a bite of the layered confection, he closed his eyes to savor the taste.  He had eaten tiramisu before, but Mickey’s was so much better.  He let the taste melt on his tongue. 

Michele said softly, “Welcome home.”

And for the first time since he left his parent’s house, Emil felt like he truly was home. 

  
  
  


The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this story is done. It was my first long fic. I am kind of sad that's its over. However, I am not done with these boys. I have a few one-shots in mind that go along with this story that I will be writing later. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the journey.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments and Kudos are always welcomed.


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